BALCCNews

Mustard Bible Study: Lunchtime Dodgeball

ROrr@balcc.vic.edu.au (Ruth Orr) — Fri, 08 Apr 2022 04:00:32 GMT

Today the Mustard Bible Study group organised a game of dodgeball for all students to take part in.

Mustard is a student led Bible study that is held once a week during lunch for interested Years 7-12 students every Wednesday during Lunch 1. The students access resources provided by Mustard, a Christian ministry who exist to empower young people to be fully alive forever. The lunchtime gatherings are an opportunity for students to gather together for support and connection, to explore the ideas that shape their thinking, and to consider what it means to live as a young person of faith. To learn more about Mustard head to: https://mustard.org.au/

“The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and planted in his field. Though it is the smallest of all seeds, yet when it grows, it is the largest of garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds come and perch in its branches.” Matthew 13:31-32

Secondary Chapel - Easter & Anzac Day

ROrr@balcc.vic.edu.au (Ruth Orr) — Fri, 08 Apr 2022 03:15:03 GMT

Today our Secondary students took part in their first in person Chapel for some time, due to COVID-19 restrictions. The Year 12 students led the Chapel, praise and worship, and an Anzac message. With Pastor Don Gall delivering an Easter message.

The Secondary Senate and House Captains were acknowledged for their appointment to their roles for 2022.

It was wonderful to have our Secondary students and staff come together again for a Chapel service. In Term 2 each Secondary class will take turns leading Chapel and Assemblies.

BalCC Easter Morning Tea

ROrr@balcc.vic.edu.au (Ruth Orr) — Fri, 08 Apr 2022 01:37:28 GMT

On Tuesday the BalCC Social Club organised a morning tea and gift for staff to celebrate Easter. The morning tea was held at Lunch 1 and was an opportunity for staff to catch up prior to the coming holiday break.

We wish everyone a happy Easter and a reminder that all students return for Term 2 on Thursday 28th April.

Alumni News: Class of 2019

ROrr@balcc.vic.edu.au (Ruth Orr) — Fri, 08 Apr 2022 01:05:50 GMT

** CLASS OF 2019 – YUAL REATH **

Congratulations to Yual for taking out the gold in the Men’s Open High Jump at the 2022 Australian Track & Field Championships last the weekend, with a jump of 2.20metres. We look forward to hearing where this amazing jump score takes Yual in his athletic career. Well done Yual.

Cert II in Building & Construction: Playground Celebration

ROrr@balcc.vic.edu.au (Ruth Orr) — Fri, 08 Apr 2022 00:42:51 GMT

Yesterday our Certificate II in Building & Construction students were treated to pizza by Mr Solomano and Mr McInerney to celebrate the completion of the new Primary playground. The students have been working on the installation of the playground over the past few weeks and today they got to take a break and enjoy the rewards of a job well done.

The new playground area will be available in Term 2 for Primary students to utilise.

Year 12 Rugby Jumpers

ROrr@balcc.vic.edu.au (Ruth Orr) — Thu, 07 Apr 2022 23:48:52 GMT

Each year our Year 12 students get to wear a casual rugby top with their uniform. The students have four design options to choose from and last week the tops arrived with the 2022 design.

Year 9 Camp: Portland

ROrr@balcc.vic.edu.au (Ruth Orr) — Thu, 07 Apr 2022 23:40:34 GMT

Our Year 9 students have headed off to Portland this week for a five day camp.

The program included visits to Mount Elephant, Tower Hill, Griffith Island, Cape Bridgewater, Mount Richmond, Discovery Bay Coastal Park and the Port of Portland and local Marine Biology discovery at Narrawong with the Camp Host. As well as supervised camp based activities, night activities, group discussions, initiative games and more.

The camp is also preparation for a second camp later in the year, that will include an 8km coastal walk at Cape Bridgewater. The camps are all part of the Micah 6:8 program that runs during Year 9.

Alumni News: Class of 2020

ROrr@balcc.vic.edu.au (Ruth Orr) — Thu, 07 Apr 2022 23:17:10 GMT

** CLASS OF 2020 – JOSIAH TUDBALL **

Josiah headed off to Cambodia last year on a six month mission trip with Youth With A Mission (YWAM). Josiah has just finished his 12 week lecture phase at YWAM in Battambang, Cambodia, where he has learnt and experienced many new things, both spiritually and culturally (food, language, customs, etc.).

For the next 8 weeks Josiah is on outreach with his DTS (Discipleship Training School) team in Kampot, Kep and Preah Sihanouk Province in Cambodia. There are four outreach teams from his DTS that have spread out all over Cambodia. They will be involved in things like, a youth soccer program, the youth development centre, English teaching, evangelism, worshipping in a place that will potentially be a new YWAM base, and whatever else God places before them. Josiah is pictured here with his DTS team.

Please continue to uphold Josiah in prayer.

To learn more about YWAM head to: https://ywam.org/

Year 8 & 9 Visual Arts - Portraits

ROrr@balcc.vic.edu.au (Ruth Orr) — Fri, 01 Apr 2022 00:04:44 GMT

In Visual Arts our Year 8 students have been working on portraits, while the Year 9 students have been completing ‘Self’ projects. Here are some of their amazing art work pieces.

Upper Primary Excursion: Narmbool

ROrr@balcc.vic.edu.au (Ruth Orr) — Thu, 31 Mar 2022 23:48:37 GMT

Throughout Term 1, our Upper Primary students have been engaging in a Science unit called ‘Living off the Land’. They have been investigating how and why food and fibre are produced in managed environments, using sustainable methods.

Last week the students went on an excursion to Narmbool, a working farm that uses sustainable practices. The students participated in soil and water testing, in which they learnt about the ideal conditions for plants to grow. Students walked around the homestead gardens and got to visit the shearing shed where they saw some sheep shearing in live action!

BalCC Athletics Carnival 2022

ROrr@balcc.vic.edu.au (Ruth Orr) — Thu, 31 Mar 2022 23:00:09 GMT

The rain may have called an early halt to our BalCC Athletics Carnival yesterday, but it didn’t dampen the spirits of students, staff and families who turned out for the event. After restrictions on so many events and activities over the past two years it was great to see our College community come together again.

Photo galleries will be published in a future edition of the Connect email.

Staff Profile: Jenny MacRae

ROrr@balcc.vic.edu.au (Ruth Orr) — Thu, 31 Mar 2022 22:28:37 GMT

Jenny immigrated from South Africa with her young family in 1992. Initially she worked for many years in the Legal sector as a Law Clerk but had the opportunity to move into Administration in the Christian School sector in 2006. She has lived in four Australian states and has worked in Christian Schools in all those states.

Before relocating to Ballarat towards the end of 2017 for family reasons, Jenny was Boarding Registrar at Marrara Christian College in the Northern Territory, where she and her husband, Arthur, also had the privilege of being House Parents to some Indigenous students.

Jenny calls it a privilege for her and her family to live in Australia, and an even greater privilege to work in the Christian school environment, alongside her husband, Arthur who works as a CRT at BalCC.

To read more Staff Profiles head to the Our Team page of our website: https://www.balcc.vic.edu.au/about-us#our-team

Year 12 Studio Arts: Folio Development Excursion

ROrr@balcc.vic.edu.au (Ruth Orr) — Thu, 31 Mar 2022 22:22:49 GMT

On Monday the Year 12 Studio Arts students, along with Student Teacher, Ella Young and Art Teacher, Carol Clough, attended a “Folio Development Day” held at the Art Gallery of Ballarat and Federation University.

Students were able to view two exhibitions at the gallery, including the current “Next Gen” exhibition, showcasing top Year 12 students’ artworks. It was invaluable for students to view and be inspired by student folios.

At Federation University, students participated in two workshops. Firstly, they explored “Mono-printing” in a printmaking workshop and then they explored sculpture and “drawing with wire.”

Multicultural Harmony Day 2022

ROrr@balcc.vic.edu.au (Ruth Orr) — Fri, 25 Mar 2022 03:38:30 GMT

Last Friday the whole College celebrated Multicultural Harmony Day. Students from Prep to Year 12 came dressed in a traditional national costume or in orange. Traditionally, orange signifies social communication, meaningful conversations, and encouragement of mutual respect.

Thanks you to all the visitors, parents and families who came in to speak to classes about their various cultures.

Multicultural Harmony Day is a day to celebrate Australian multiculturalism, based on the successful integration of migrants into our community. The day is about inclusiveness, respect and belonging for all Australians, regardless of cultural or linguistic background, united by a set of core Australian values.

Prep & Lower Primary: Green Earth Kids

ROrr@balcc.vic.edu.au (Ruth Orr) — Fri, 25 Mar 2022 02:49:24 GMT

Our Prep and Lower Primary classes were treated to an incursion by Green Earth Kids on Tuesday. Green Earth Kids taught the Lower Primary students about the ocean, its creatures and the layers of the ocean. Miree from Green Earth Kids taught from a biblical perspective and the students learnt how God made the oceans, its creatures and how He gave us the world to look after. Students then had the opportunity to make a turtle out of recycled objects.

Our Prep students participated in a session called “That’s not rubbish”, where they also learnt about looking after God’s creation and how they can reuse items instead of them going into landfill. The Preps investigated items made from recycled objects and then made egg carton seed capsules with rocket to plant in their gardens at home.

Prep Teddy Bear's Picnic

ROrr@balcc.vic.edu.au (Ruth Orr) — Fri, 25 Mar 2022 00:39:19 GMT

On Thursday our Preps enjoyed a teddy bear’s picnic on the lawn area next to our creek. The Preps were gifted teddy bears as part of their first orientation last year and some of the Preps brought the teddies along for the picnic. The lawn area was a perfect spot for the Preps to sit and enjoy their lunch and make the most of the warm day.

Middle Primary Excursion: Ecolinc

ROrr@balcc.vic.edu.au (Ruth Orr) — Thu, 24 Mar 2022 23:54:59 GMT

The students and staff from the Middle Primary A and B recently travelled to Bacchus Marsh by bus for an excursion at Ecolinc Science and Technology Innovations Centre. At Ecolinc the students participated in hands-on activities and watched videos about our amazing native plants. The groups learnt how the local Indigenous people used the native plants for medicine, food and made tools out of them. The students had fun potting up seeds in the fresh soil and were surprised to learn that by putting honey on the bottom of cuttings helps the plant to grow new roots.

Cert II in Building & Construction: Primary Playground

ROrr@balcc.vic.edu.au (Ruth Orr) — Thu, 24 Mar 2022 23:40:44 GMT

The Certificate II Building & Construction team (Years 10-12) have assisted the College maintenance team in Term 1 to erect new playground equipment for the Primary students to enjoy. At the completion of the project the students were treated to pizza by Mr Solomano and Mr McInerney, to celebrate the completion of the new Primary playground.

2022 BalCC Primary SRC

ROrr@balcc.vic.edu.au (Ruth Orr) — Thu, 24 Mar 2022 22:43:57 GMT

Congratulations to our 2022 SRC Primary representatives, who received their badges at this week’s Primary assembly.

The Primary SRC provides a student voice into the decision-making process at the College. It also provides students from Years 3-6 an opportunity to democratically elect student leaders from amongst their cohort to represent them on the Primary SRC.

Students involved in the SRC have the opportunity to develop skills in leadership and communication and gain an

understanding of democratic processes by being actively involved in activities that engage the College community

as a whole.

2022 BalCC Senate

ROrr@balcc.vic.edu.au (Ruth Orr) — Thu, 24 Mar 2022 22:42:48 GMT

Our Secondary Senate students have been announced for 2022.

The Senate is the Secondary School Student Representative Council (SRC) and facilitates leadership and decision making

by all students within Ballarat Christian College. It is an important way to provide meaningful leadership

opportunities for students and to promote a voice for students in school decision-making. The Senate is:

• Educational by developing skills in leadership and communication;

• Democratic because every student has a voice;

• Responsible for solving real problems and making real decisions;

• Sharing decision-making with the Principal, teachers, other students and the school community;

• Caring about the College, what happens in it and to it;

• Fun and rewarding for everyone in the College.

Staff Profile: Heather McInerney

ROrr@balcc.vic.edu.au (Ruth Orr) — Thu, 24 Mar 2022 22:34:30 GMT

STAFF PROFILE: Heather McInerney.

Heather grew up in northern Victoria, near Echuca, where her parents were dairy farmers and then ministers in The Salvation Army. She has three children and they all attended Ballarat Christian College for their secondary schooling years.

Heather worked for The Salvation Army when she left school, and then served as a minister in The Salvation Army and as an Assistant Pastor in Ballarat for a short time. She then moved on to work at Eclipse Ford before commencing at Ballarat Christian College in September 2011, as the College Receptionist. Since then Heather has held various administration roles, with her current position being as College Registrar and PA to the Principal.

In her spare time Heather enjoys reading biographies, history, gardening, listening to music, watching movies (especially true stories), mountain bike riding and generally having fun.

To read more Staff Profiles head to the Our Team page of our website: https://www.balcc.vic.edu.au/about-us#our-team

Upper Primary Performing Arts: Ukuleles

ROrr@balcc.vic.edu.au (Ruth Orr) — Fri, 18 Mar 2022 02:48:50 GMT

The Upper Primary students are currently doing a unit on learning to play the ukulele. This is following on from learning about rhythm and beat. The students of Upper Primary are mastering chords so that they can play some classic songs like ‘Hot cross buns’ and ‘Mary had a little lamb’. The Upper Primary students can’t wait to share their new talents at an upcoming assembly.

Year 7 & 8 Performing Arts: Learning Instruments

ROrr@balcc.vic.edu.au (Ruth Orr) — Fri, 18 Mar 2022 02:48:12 GMT

Students in Year 7 and Year 8 have an exciting opportunity this year to learn an instrument in Performing Arts class. It will form the centrepiece of the music curriculum within this subject.

As this is a core component of our music curriculum, all students will need to bring their instruments home to practice. Most written work will be completed within our class time, so the majority of students' homework will be to practice their instrument. This is a key advantage of our focus on instrumental learning, which allows for significantly improved student achievement, compared to only playing once per week in class.

Ballarat Christian College is supporting this program by covering the full cost of hire and normal servicing of instruments, as well as tuition, which will occur during Performing Arts class time. This significant investment by the college enables all students to take this opportunity.

All Year 7 students will learn a brass or woodwind instrument, and all Year 8 students will learn a string instrument. When the current Year 7 students progress to Year 8 in 2023, they will have the opportunity to learn a string instrument and to continue their 2021 instrument in private lessons.

The distribution of instrumental options amongst Year 7s considers a desire to group together compatible instruments for whole-class ensemble playing, which is an important part of instrumental learning.

Staff Profile: Mark Preston

ROrr@balcc.vic.edu.au (Ruth Orr) — Fri, 18 Mar 2022 01:34:02 GMT

Mark has been a teacher for his entire working life of over forty years. He has mainly taught Mathematics, a subject he is very passionate about. He started his career in Victoria and then had a number of years teaching in Tasmania, including fifteen years at Launceston Christian School where he was Head of Mathematics before moving to Ballarat to start at BalCC at the beginning of 2016. He attends York Street Church of Christ with his wife, Margaret.

To read more Staff Profiles head to the Our Team page of our website: https://www.balcc.vic.edu.au/about-us#our-team

Victoria Police Presentation

ROrr@balcc.vic.edu.au (Ruth Orr) — Thu, 17 Mar 2022 23:58:56 GMT

On Wednesday our Years 5-12 students participated in presentations from Leading Senior Constable Des Hudson, a Youth Resource Officer with Victoria Police. Each year level attended a 45 minute session aimed to educate and assist students as they navigate different stages of their adolescence and journey into adulthood.

The presentations were designed to be interactive and age appropriate. Students were able to ask questions anonymously via a safe webpage with teachers monitoring and sending appropriate questions to Leading Senior Constable Des Hudson to answer. The sessions also had a focus on topics such as decision making, conflict resolution, Ballarat Police Party Safe Reminder (Secondary only), appropriate phone usage (Secondary only), being a responsible citizen and the law.

BalCC Photo Day

ROrr@balcc.vic.edu.au (Ruth Orr) — Thu, 17 Mar 2022 23:55:59 GMT

Our official BalCC Photo Day was held last Wednesday. Amidst the formal photos there were a few fun photos taken.

If any staff, students or families were unable to have their photos taken today, our official photographers, MSP Photography Ballarat will be running what is known as a makeup photo day. This will be on Thursday 31st March between 3:30 and 4:45pm at MSP’s studio at 890 Humffray Street South, Mt Pleasant. Please note that MSP Photography Ballarat have moved from Sturt Street, so please be aware of the new location. MSP Photography Ballarat contact no is 5333 5577 for any further questions. Full summer uniform is required for photos.

Lower Primary: Maths Treasure Hunt

ROrr@balcc.vic.edu.au (Ruth Orr) — Fri, 11 Mar 2022 00:33:01 GMT

Following on with their Term 1 theme, ‘Sail away’ the Lower primary classes went hunting for pirate treasure in a Maths lesson this week. This was incorporating Beebots, students had to program them with directions to move them to get to the treasure. Students were learning about using location words and understating position.

Staff Profile: Emma Willis

ROrr@balcc.vic.edu.au (Ruth Orr) — Fri, 11 Mar 2022 00:19:10 GMT

STAFF PROFILE: Emma Willis

Emma has taught Year 11 and 12 VCE English since 2003 at schools in Melbourne and country Victoria, including Emmanuel College for eight years, where she also taught Year 11 and 12 Literature. Emma has also taught GCSE and A Level English and Literature in the UK for two years.

Emma attended The University of Melbourne for her undergraduate and graduate degrees, and Deakin Uni for her master’s degree in English Literature. Emma has a passion for the classics, including Shakespeare, poetry, 19th century and post-modern literature.

To read more Staff Profiles head to the Our Team page of our website: https://www.balcc.vic.edu.au/about-us#our-team

Picking Day in the Garden

ROrr@balcc.vic.edu.au (Ruth Orr) — Fri, 11 Mar 2022 00:10:02 GMT

Today our Primary students presented our Principal, Ken Nuridin with some of the vegetables that have been growing in our creek garden. Mondays are picking days in the garden, and the last of the corn, tomatoes and cucumbers were collected today by our eager little gardeners. Well done to all the Primary students who have been volunteering during their lunch breaks to tend to the garden with Mr McInerney from maintenance.

Year 9/10 Digital Technology - Inside Computers

ROrr@balcc.vic.edu.au (Ruth Orr) — Fri, 11 Mar 2022 00:03:29 GMT

The elective Year 9/10 Digital Technology class have been looking at what is inside a computer. As part of this, they were challenged with the task of dismantling and then reassembling an old PC.

BalCC ICT Updates

ROrr@balcc.vic.edu.au (Ruth Orr) — Thu, 10 Mar 2022 23:59:50 GMT

All students in years Prep to Year 10 have received new devices this year – in line with our 3-year cycle of devices. All Prep, Lower Primary (Years 1-2) and Middle Primary (Years 3-4) students have been allocated a new iPad; students in Years 5 -10 have been issued new Lenovo laptops. Students in Years 11 and 12 retain their devices from the previous year/s, again within a constant 3-year cycle.

This system ensures that all students have access to contemporary devices, with all the necessary software and access to online platforms & learning tools appropriate to their curriculum needs. It also provides for every student to have the same device as their peers - which helps to keep classes focussed on learning, not on solving workaround issues for differing machines, operating systems, and licence arrangements.

Our in-house ICT team is on hand to solve any teething problems, fix connectivity issues, and handle the daily password, charging, and reset challenges that inevitably arise; altogether providing as close to a seamless rollout as could be expected. The Team – Trevor, Isaac and Tim have done a great job making sure every student has the right device and access to all their required learning tools.

Additionally, this year we have purchased and installed 65-inch Interactive Screens in all classes from Prep to Year-8; these screens have replaced some well-loved and long-used smartboards in the Primary classrooms and short-throw projectors in the Year 7 and 8 classrooms and the Art and Science rooms. The other secondary classrooms all are equipped with large LCD screens to which teacher can easily connect their laptops to present material according to the subjects being taught.

Celebrating International Womens Day

ROrr@balcc.vic.edu.au (Ruth Orr) — Thu, 10 Mar 2022 23:49:24 GMT

On Tuesday we celebrated International Women’s Day with a special morning tea for our staff. International Women's Day is a global day celebrating the social, economic, cultural, and political achievements of women in all their diversities. It is also a day to raise awareness about the inequalities girls and women face around the world.

Thank you to the BalCC Social Club team for putting the lovely morning tea and gifts together for our staff to enjoy. Thank you to the Year 9 Micah 6:8 students who used their recently obtained barista skills and made hot drinks for all the female staff.

BalCC Campus Upgrades

ROrr@balcc.vic.edu.au (Ruth Orr) — Fri, 04 Mar 2022 01:46:39 GMT

Over the January holidays further concreting works were conducted to progress the eradication of gravel from the College campus. A new playground area has been established to utilise a generous donation of equipment from Belgrave Heights Christian School last year. The Cert II Building & Construction team (years 10-12) will be assisting the College maintenance team to plan and erect this equipment over the coming weeks before it is made available to Primary students to enjoy.

Work continues with the lower creek area which is being developed as a practical horticulture learning space – as well as generally cleaning up an underutilised area of the campus. Gradually, but surely, we are replacing old, rough fencing with a clean, contemporary look to match the external fences around the property. This has included the finalisation of the new bridge across the creek to ensure student safety around this water feature.

Further works are planned for the rest of this year to continue providing a safe, clean, and pleasant learning environment for all students.

2021 BalCC Yearbook

ROrr@balcc.vic.edu.au (Ruth Orr) — Fri, 04 Mar 2022 01:18:19 GMT

The 2021 BalCC yearbook has now been distributed to families and staff. The yearbook is a great reflection of the 2021 year and has lots of photos and write ups to enjoy. Happy reading.

Primary: Athletics Sporting Schools

ROrr@balcc.vic.edu.au (Ruth Orr) — Fri, 04 Mar 2022 00:13:30 GMT

Primary Students are currently participating in an Athletics program during Physical Education classes this term. The Upper Primary classes are enjoying and benefitting from expert coaching by Emma from Athletics Australia who is assisting Miss Melissa O'Hara for 4 sessions to improve student's skills. Funding for these sessions along with extra equipment to run similar sessions with the Prep and Middle and Lower Primary classes is provided by the Australian Sporting Schools program.

Sporting Schools is a $320 million Australian Government initiative designed to help schools increase children's participation in sport and connect them with community sport opportunities. Research shows that quality sport and physical activity in schools has a positive influence on children’s confidence, competence and motivation to be active at school and throughout their life.

The objectives of Sporting Schools are to:

• improve children’s fundamental movement skills to encourage lifelong participation in physical activity

• increase the awareness of the value of sport in schools

• engage children in high quality sporting programs

• connect children with sport in their local communities

• develop the capability and capacity of sport to drive nationwide participation growth.

To learn more about Sporting Schools head to: https://www.sportaus.gov.au/schools

Lower Primary: A Day at the Beach

ROrr@balcc.vic.edu.au (Ruth Orr) — Thu, 03 Mar 2022 23:12:13 GMT

On Thursday both of the Lower Primary classes participated in some beach-themed literacy and numeracy activities at the College. This was part of their integrated unit “Sail away”.

The students enjoyed fishing for spelling words, relaxing on a boat reading and playing ‘Go Fish’ with high frequency words. During Maths they looked at fractions using water and created some tunes before making place value ice creams. They finished the activities with a refreshing icy pole. It was a perfect day of learning for “A day at the beach”.

Canteen Volunteers Needed

ROrr@balcc.vic.edu.au (Ruth Orr) — Thu, 03 Mar 2022 22:40:26 GMT

We are looking for volunteers to help in our College Canteen on Wednesdays and Fridays. The hours would be between 11:00am-2:00pm. To learn about how you can volunteer and make a difference contact our College Administration Office for a volunteer’s pack. Our staff are available to help explain the documents contained in the packs.

Staff Profile: Simon Lewis

ROrr@balcc.vic.edu.au (Ruth Orr) — Thu, 03 Mar 2022 22:35:37 GMT

STAFF PROFILE: Simon Lewis

Simon completed his Bachelor of Health and Physical Education at Deakin University in 2014. He taught Maths and Health and Physical Education at Stawell Secondary College before returning to study, graduating with a Bachelor of Physiotherapy (Honours) in 2020.

Simon has a broad range of experience, having worked as a sound technician, personal trainer, drum teacher, youth pastor, physiotherapist, and in retail. This breadth of knowledge helps Simon to connect learning to student’s interests and make the content relevant and engaging.

Growing up in Melbourne, Simon lived in Stawell and Ararat before moving to Ballarat in 2017, where he currently lives with his wife Amy and two daughters Evie and Sophie. He enjoys hiking, sport, hitting the gym or the drums, completing research, and being creative in the kitchen. Simon joined Ballarat Christian College this year and is teaching Year 7 Maths and continues to treat local Ballarat patients as a physiotherapist.

To read more Staff Profiles head to the Our Team page of our website: https://www.balcc.vic.edu.au/about-us#our-team

Alumni News: Class of 2021 Wins at Victorian Apprenticeship Awards

ROrr@balcc.vic.edu.au (Ruth Orr) — Thu, 24 Feb 2022 03:03:44 GMT

** CLASS OF 2021 – NATHANIEL WALKER **

Congratulations to Nathaniel Walker on winning the School-based Apprentice/Trainee of the Year at the 2021 Victorian Apprenticeship Awards, presented by the Apprenticeship Employment Network (AEN) and the Global Apprenticeship Network (GAN).

Nathaniel was presented the award at a ‘catch up’ gala dinner at The Pavilion, Arts Centre Melbourne, on Wednesday 16 February. The ‘catch-up’ awards dinner, rescheduled due to the pandemic, celebrated the dedication and achievements of apprentices and trainees, GTOs and businesses committed to the development of apprentices and trainees. The night represented eleven group training organisations (GTOs) and was attended by thirty-nine finalists, industry leaders and special guests from Department of Education and Skills, Apprenticeships Victoria, Jobs Victoria, the Victorian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, WorldSkills Australia and the Victorian TAFE Association.

The awards span from outstanding commitments to studies at school and in the workplace to the significant contribution and performance of women, Indigenous representatives, people with a disability in trades, and the achievement of overcoming challenges to the contribution of making the workplace a safer environment.

These awards celebrate the ways that all apprenticeships and traineeships develop the work-ready skills needed to pursue professional, rewarding careers.

In response to the short-term impacts of COVID-19 in 2021, guests commended all finalists of the 2021 apprenticeship awards, and their employers who have shown great resilience, initiative, and ability to thrive in their industries, with support of their local group training organisations.

Nathaniel was selected from the thousands of trainees and apprentices across Victoria and was nominated by his group training, BGT Jobs & Training. Nathaniel completed a Certificate II in Landscaping school-based traineeship program in 2021. BGT Employment Services Manager, Troy Westblade said “We had nominated Nathaniel for the school-based trainee of the year, and we were very pleased that on the night he was announced to have won that category. Nathaniel gave an amazing speech on the night, in which he thanks both BGT and Ballarat Christian College for the opportunity”.

During his time at Ballarat Christian College Nathaniel completed units in the Certificate II in Building & Construction before graduating Year 12. Congratulations Nathaniel on such a wonderful achievement and for recognition of all your hard work.

Upper Primary: Christian Living

ROrr@balcc.vic.edu.au (Ruth Orr) — Thu, 24 Feb 2022 02:59:29 GMT

The Upper Primary students had an object lesson in their Christian Living class this week on how sin separates us from God. The students wrote notes to represent sin and attached them to balloons as part of the lesson.

Year 7 Science: Cloud Formation

ROrr@balcc.vic.edu.au (Ruth Orr) — Thu, 24 Feb 2022 01:56:15 GMT

This week in Science our Year 7 students used steaming hot water and ice to investigate cloud formation. This was part of the topic on natural resources. Students enjoyed their first use of the Bunsen burners in the Science Lab.

BalCC Blazer

ROrr@balcc.vic.edu.au (Ruth Orr) — Thu, 24 Feb 2022 01:37:27 GMT

Our uniform supplier, PSW currently have 50% off our current College blazer. From the commencement of 2023 the

College blazer will be mandatory for students from Years 7-11. From 2024 onwards the blazer will be mandatory for students from Years 7-12.

A new-look blazer will become available during 2022. We will be sourcing this blazer from a different supplier and as such, this blazer will only be available for purchase from the College. The new blazer will have the same colour and logo as the current blazer, but with some added trim that will help the new blazer to stand out from other schools in our area that have a similar blazer. All other uniform items will continue to be available from PSW.

There is no set ‘expiry’ date for the older blazer – students may continue to wear the older blazer for as long as the item remains in good condition. Students will not be permitted to wear any blazer (or indeed any other uniform item) that is in poor or worn condition.

Student Achievement: Year 9 Scores Cricket Century

ROrr@balcc.vic.edu.au (Ruth Orr) — Thu, 24 Feb 2022 00:53:52 GMT

STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT: Last weekend Year 9A student, Gibson opened the batting for East Ballarat Cricket Club Senior Thirds and scored over a 100. Gibson was partnered with his father, Craig, with their partnership reaching a score of 206. Gibson and his dad have been playing senior cricket together at East Ballarat for the past four years. While their team didn’t take home the win on the day they had a great time on the pitch.

The East Ballarat Cricket Club were very excited about the partnership score saying “Saturday was a fantastic day for the East Ballarat Cricket Club. A day like no other. For the first time in the club’s history, a father and son have achieved a huge batting partnership of 206. Father Craig 102 and son Gibson 104. It was a fantastic innings to watch and what a moment in both their lives achieving a century together and enjoying quality father and son time in the middle. We couldn’t be more proud of the pair, it was a fantastic reward for a lot of hard work put in throughout the year.”

We love to hear about our student’s achievements, so if you would like to share information and photos of achievements, please email connect@balcc.vic.edu.au

Staff Profile: Melissa O'Hara

ROrr@balcc.vic.edu.au (Ruth Orr) — Thu, 24 Feb 2022 00:47:51 GMT

Besides never really leaving school and rolling it into a teaching career – Melissa ‘flick flacked’ as a gymnastics coach, cleaned carpets to pay for Uni, devoted her time to overseas missions, bounced as a Children’s and Family Minister, shared Christ through beach missions, explored Southeast Asia and studied at Theological College.

Melissa also thought she’d die while bungy jumping in NZ, and she was convinced Jesus returned in Year 12 during a dramatic Ballarat hailstorm. She’s dined with a fair dinkum king, prince and an orangutan (not all at the same time) and she ran for her life as a monkey chased her in the Himalayan Foothills and as aggressive stinging bees swarmed in Laos while hiking to stay with an Akha hilltribe. Melissa’s been known to ‘accidentally’ eat yellow snow while skiing, landed on her head while somersaulting and proud God improved her stuttering and confidence through reading the Bible aloud as a child. Today you might just bump into Melissa clifftop walking with her cousin, Missy Pickletoe or be knocked out (literally) as she is dumped while boogie boarding.

Melissa’s living proof that pobody’s nerfect.

At BalCC, Melissa works with both Primary and Secondary classes. She’s thrilled to Coordinate Primary Chapels, honoured to teach the Bible and share Christ through Christian Living and energised to combine this with empowering young people to enjoy a healthy and active life through Physical Education.

Melissa sees herself primarily as a learner who leads through teaching, and she’d rather be known by her adoptive identity than the things she’s achieved or qualifications she has. Melissa is a dearly loved daughter of the Creator of the Universe, and she will live eternally because her faith is in Jesus, who saves her by His grace.

Psalm 73:28 sums up Melissa’s passion.

“But as for me, it is good to be near God. I have made the Sovereign Lord my refuge; I will tell of all ‘His’ deeds.”

To read more Staff Profiles head to the Our Team page of our website: https://www.balcc.vic.edu.au/about-us#our-team

Prep & Year 12 Buddies

ROrr@balcc.vic.edu.au (Ruth Orr) — Thu, 24 Feb 2022 00:03:05 GMT

On Tuesday our Prep and Year 12 buddies came together again to do some reading during homeroom. The students enjoyed some time outdoors reading and chatting, before being led in prayer by one of our College Captains.

Tutu Twosday 22.2.2022

ROrr@balcc.vic.edu.au (Ruth Orr) — Wed, 23 Feb 2022 23:48:38 GMT

To recognise Tuesday’s date - 22.2.2022 our Primary teachers, Administration staff and a few students headed to school in tutus! Primary classes had a focus on two, as the special number for the day.

Lower Primary Visual Arts: Studying Georgia O'Keefe

ROrr@balcc.vic.edu.au (Ruth Orr) — Fri, 18 Feb 2022 00:48:32 GMT

The Lower Primary students have been learning about the artist, Georgia O’Keeffe in their Visual Arts classes. The students learnt some fun facts about the artist, such as her love to paint from the back seat of her Model A Ford!

Georgia O’Keeffe created more than 200 artworks of flowers. The students viewed her artworks and used them as inspiration for their paintings. Students reviewed warm and cool colours and demonstrated their understanding through their colour choices in their artworks.

Staff Profile: Don Gall

ROrr@balcc.vic.edu.au (Ruth Orr) — Fri, 18 Feb 2022 00:38:37 GMT

STAFF PROFILE: Don Gall

Teaching has been the central part of Don’s working life. After graduating from Frankston Teachers College he taught in both city and country, State and Christian schools, beginning as a classroom teacher and then becoming a Principal.

After several years teaching, study at Bible College became the next part of his journey which then led him into local church ministry and to teaching and training others for Christian ministry for a number of years.

Don is now privileged to be teaching in the Senior Secondary section of BalCC, where he enjoys encouraging and equipping students as they are about to venture into the next phase of study or work life.

Don is married to Julie, who is also passionate about teaching and mentoring students and colleagues in her role as Director of Teaching & Learning at the College. Together they have three children, and twelve wonderful grandchildren all who bring great joy to their lives.

To read more Staff Profiles head to the Our Team page of our website: https://www.balcc.vic.edu.au/about-us#our-team

BalCC Plugged-in Prayer Meet

ROrr@balcc.vic.edu.au (Ruth Orr) — Fri, 18 Feb 2022 00:35:07 GMT

Plugged-in Prayer Meet is an opportunity to come and pray for our College and the world.

The first prayer meet will be held on Wednesday 23 February 3:30-4:15pm, outside the BalCC Multi-Purpose Centre all Staff, Students, Parents/Carers, and Members of the College community are invited to come along.

Please sign in at our Administration and show your proof of vaccination.

For further information, please contact Melissa O’Hara on mohara@balcc.vic.edu.au

BalCC Homework Club 2022

ROrr@balcc.vic.edu.au (Ruth Orr) — Fri, 18 Feb 2022 00:27:35 GMT

Our BalCC Homework Club started back this week and runs every Wednesday during term for our Year 5 -12 students. This is a service offered at no extra charge to parents/carers.

Homework Club offers students the chance to get some extra help or just get some homework done straight after school.

Please advise the Administration Office if you child/ren will be in attendance at Homework Club.

The program is run by Mr Preston, Mrs Ballinger Mrs Kemp, and Miss Simonis, and other teachers as they are available. The venue will be the Science Lab (S1) and the program will run from 3:30 until 4:30pm every Wednesday unless otherwise notified.

Attendance at this program is optional, but if your child would like to take advantage of Homework Club, even just on a casual basis.

Please email bcc@balcc.vic.edu.au if you would like your child to attend our Homework program. Include in the email the Subject heading: Homework Club and in the message include your child’s name.

You can also send a text to the College mobile 0416 905 324 to let us know that your child will be attending Homework Club. Please remember to include your child’s name and sender’s name.

If you have any questions about Homework Club, please ask your child/ren’s Homeroom teacher.

Student Achievement: Upper Primary wins at Regional Track Carnival

ROrr@balcc.vic.edu.au (Ruth Orr) — Fri, 18 Feb 2022 00:17:49 GMT

STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT: Congratulations to Shakira in Upper Primary A on winning the 200m Girls U11 and 400m Girls U11 track races at the Little Athletics Victoria-Western Country Region Track and Field Carnival at the weekend.

The carnival was held at Llanberris Athletics Reserve, with Shakira also placing third in the 100m Girls U11 track race. Shakira’s win in the 400m race was made all the more special when she broke the current Girls U11 record for the Western region by running 1.07.02. The previous record set in 1998 was 1.08.91.

Shakira’s next stop is the Victorian Track & Field Championships later this month and we can’t wait to see how she goes.

Volunteering@ BalCC

creative@austcommunitymedia.com.au (Creative ACM) — Fri, 18 Feb 2022 00:14:51 GMT

Are you looking for an opportunity to engage with the College community?

We welcome your time, skills and talents.

To learn about how you can volunteer and make a difference contact the College Administration Office.

• Pick up a volunteer pack from the office

• Read the documents in the pack (Staff are available to help explain these documents)

• Apply for National Police check and Working with Children check

• Meet with our Child Safety Officer

• Receive further training

At BalCC we have a variety of opportunities for volunteers.

Prep & Year 12 Buddies

ROrr@balcc.vic.edu.au (Ruth Orr) — Fri, 11 Feb 2022 01:23:50 GMT

At the start of each school year our Year 12 students are paired with a Prep student. The buddy system has been going for several years and sees the Year 12s show the Preps around the College on their first few days, and on the Year 12s last day of school the Preps walk the Year 12s into their final assembly.

Throughout the year the Preps and Year 12s meet during homeroom and chat, play games and read stories. On their first catch up this year the Preps and Year 12s enjoyed some time chatting and going for a walk around the College.

Prep Visual Arts: Colour Wheel

ROrr@balcc.vic.edu.au (Ruth Orr) — Fri, 11 Feb 2022 00:24:05 GMT

Our Prep students first Visual Arts lesson has been about colour theory. The Preps used playdough on a colour wheel to identify the primary colours and then mixed the playdough to create secondary colours. It is lovely watching our Preps settle in to school life and discover and learn new skills.

Upper Primary Living off the Land

ROrr@balcc.vic.edu.au (Ruth Orr) — Fri, 11 Feb 2022 00:14:49 GMT

Last week the Upper Primary A and B students were planting seeds and eating fruit kebabs as part of their ‘Living off the land’ Science unit.

The students will investigate how and why food and fibre are produced in managed environments, using sustainable methods. They will also explore how people in design and technologies occupations address competing considerations, including sustainability, in the design of solutions for current and future use. The unit culminates in students following the design and production process by designing, preparing and producing a healthy dish, considering safety, nutrition and sustainability.

Staff Profile: Sandra Morgan

ROrr@balcc.vic.edu.au (Ruth Orr) — Fri, 11 Feb 2022 00:02:43 GMT

Sandra commenced at Ballarat Christian College in 2001 and now twenty-one years later is still enjoying life at the College.

Sandra is a part of our Administration team and is currently our Communications Officer and PA to our Business Manager, Simon Edwards. She has seen many changes over the years, the merging of two schools and campuses, various principals, new students, new buildings, and God’s hand on each and every season. Sandra loves working at BalCC with our College family and work colleagues.

Sandra and Derek’s two children did their secondary education here at the College, and her daughter-in-law, Jade works at the College in Education Support. She attends Rise Christian Church Ballarat and enjoys and loves her grandchildren, and horses at Enfield.

Year 9 Science Atoms

ROrr@balcc.vic.edu.au (Ruth Orr) — Thu, 10 Feb 2022 23:49:37 GMT

This week our Year 9 students have been building models of atoms. The students worked in pairs and selected the atom theory of various scientists to make their model, as part of their work on atom theories.

Middle Primary A Birdhouses

ROrr@balcc.vic.edu.au (Ruth Orr) — Thu, 10 Feb 2022 23:39:16 GMT

The Term 1 theme for our Middle Primary students is ‘My Place’. This week for their technology studies our Middle Primary A students headed to our Trade Training Centre to build birdhouses, as part of the theme. The students are learning about different forms of materials and making a special ‘my place’ for the birds in their gardens at home.

Lower Primary Sail Away

ROrr@balcc.vic.edu.au (Ruth Orr) — Thu, 10 Feb 2022 23:26:42 GMT

Octopuses, turtles, fish, and dolphins are just some of the colourful sea creatures ‘swimming’ around our Lower Primary classes this term, as part of their ‘Sail Away’ theme.

Our Lower Primary A and B teachers have set their classrooms up with sea creatures, fishing nets, seashells, and interactive displays for the students to engage with. There is even a submarine and ship, made by recycling some rather large boxes from our IT department.

Later in the term the Lower Primary students will get to dress-up for their theme and we can’t wait to see what they come dressed as.

Music Tutors 2022

ROrr@balcc.vic.edu.au (Ruth Orr) — Fri, 04 Feb 2022 01:59:47 GMT

We have a number of music tutors who come into the College during school hours to give private instrumental lessons.

If you are interested in pursuing music lessons for your child, please contact our College Administration Office for the phone numbers. The tutors will be able to advise on finances and whether solo or group lessons are available.

Tutoring is available for guitar with Frank Francica, drums with Daniel Gay, violin with Yvonne Holley and beginner keyboard with Jack McGilligan.

Start of 2022 School Year

ROrr@balcc.vic.edu.au (Ruth Orr) — Fri, 04 Feb 2022 01:58:14 GMT

This week we welcomed all our students back for the start of Term 1 for 2022. Students were greeted by warm weather and were happy during their lunch breaks to get to catch up with the classmates and make new friends. While we might not know what 2022 holds for us we do know that when we “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight”. Proverbs 3:5-6 NIV

BalCC Garden Helpers

ROrr@balcc.vic.edu.au (Ruth Orr) — Fri, 04 Feb 2022 01:32:03 GMT

Some of our Primary students have been spending part of their lunch breaks helping out our maintenance team in the College fruit and vegetable garden. The recent warm weather and rain has made for great growing conditions and this week the students harvested cucumbers and plums.

Year 9 Micah 6:8 Job Camp

ROrr@balcc.vic.edu.au (Ruth Orr) — Fri, 04 Feb 2022 01:23:54 GMT

Our Year 9 students have been taking part in a three day job camp as part of their Micah 6:8 program. The job camp sees the Year 9s receive training from Short Courses Australia in Food Safety, First Aid, Resume and Cover letter creation, Job Application and Interview skills, and Barista and Café skills.

Alongside the core curriculum students participate in Micah 6:8, a program that is designed to build resilience and life skills, and encompasses subjects such as Careers and HPE, as well as tying in with the requirements for the bronze level of The Duke of Edinburgh Award. During the program students will focus on areas such as resilience, mental health, life skills, voluntary service, physical recreation and skills.

Staff Profile: Priscilla Samuels

ROrr@balcc.vic.edu.au (Ruth Orr) — Fri, 04 Feb 2022 00:57:32 GMT

Priscilla has been teaching for the past eight years and currently splits her working time between Ballarat Christian College and Melton Christian College. At BalCC Priscilla is teaching Health and Physical Education to our Years 8 and 10 students.

Priscilla commenced her teaching career in primary before moving on to secondary and has taught many subjects, with Health and Physical Education being her personal passion and love. She has four children, three of whom attend BalCC and is also kept busy teaching Sunday School.

Alumni News Class of 2017 - Engagement

ROrr@balcc.vic.edu.au (Ruth Orr) — Fri, 04 Feb 2022 00:51:03 GMT

CLASS OF 2017 - LACHLAN MASON & PAIGE MEYER. Congratulations to Lachie and Paige on their recent engagement!

Lachie and Paige both graduated Ballarat Christian College in 2017. Lachie began attending the College in Year 2, while Paige joined in Year 7, and both were middle school Captains during 2014.

In 2016, Lachie became very ill with a rare kidney disease and was put into intensive care and told he needed a kidney transplant. He went on the transplant waiting list while undergoing nightly dialysis for 10 hours a night every night. During this time, he attended school during the day and completed his VCAL, even though he was quite sick. Paige, while supporting Lachie, underwent her VCE and successfully completed with scores that led her to a Bachelor of Nursing at ACU.

In early 2018, Lachie received the call to receive a kidney and after recovery, undertook a Certificate IV in Community and Human Services, starting weeks late. After completing this, he applied for the Bachelor of Community and Human Services at Federation University.

Paige graduated from her Bachelor of Nursing in 2020 and was successful throughout her degree in creating her own business called ‘Peas and Jays’, specialising in sewing gifts and homewares. It was her kind generosity that used this skill to sew bibs that looked like clothing from shirts, to return dignity to patients in nursing homes and specialist schools. Paige set a goal to make 1,000 bibs from her own time and donations to reach this target, landing her in ‘The Courier’, which helped draw attention to this need. Paige went on to do a Master of Teaching, specialising in health and science and will graduate in the middle of 2022 with goals to teach these VCE subjects.

Lachie also started his own business during his degree as a self-employed support carer for clients in NDIS. Lachie has completed his degree, all except his 500 hours of placement which was interrupted due to the COVID-19 pandemic. He is currently doing placement in a local high school, working as part of the wellbeing team organising programmes and doing counselling work. After completion of his placement he will graduate mid 2022 as a social worker.

Both Paige and Lachie also spent two years volunteering as leaders on the ‘Christians at Uni’ group for both Federation University and Australian Catholic University. They also dedicated their time to serving while at university, often taking part in community events during this time, including several trips to Canberra and Children’s Mission in Ararat

We wish them well in their life together and their future careers as a teacher and social worker.

Welcome to the 2022 School Year

ROrr@balcc.vic.edu.au (Ruth Orr) — Fri, 04 Feb 2022 00:36:51 GMT

Welcome to the 2022 school year. Communication is a big key to success and having the correct contact details and information for you and your child/children is vital.

PARENT LOUNGE: Parents/Carers are strongly encouraged to regularly login and check their Parent Lounge portal for notifications, permissions and event information.

• Please let us know if you are unable to access your Parent Lounge, have forgotten your password or require some assistance.

• Please log into your Parent Lounge and check all the information is correct for you and your child/children.

• Remember to check all contact numbers are correct for parents as well as student mobile phone number.

• Check all emergency contacts are correct including double checking mobile numbers

• Student Medical information – check all medical conditions, Medicare and doctor details.

• Most changes can be done via your Parent Lounge account and this information gets sent to our Administration Office for approval.

Parent Lounge is designed to provide parents with everything they need throughout their child’s education journey, keeping them engaged and providing a way for them to interact with both their child’s learning and the school community by providing access to and information about:

• Absences

• Academic Reports

• Curricular activities due

• Emergency contacts

• Homeroom and subject teachers

• Homework

• Medical Information

• Parent Teachers Interviews

• School Calendar Events

• Timetable

• Today’s Daily Notices

• Tours & Excursions

Please don’t hesitate to give our Administration Office a call on 5337 5900 to assist you with staying connected or updating your information. Thank you for your assistance with this and we look forward to working with you and being here for you.

BalCC Staff PD Days

ROrr@balcc.vic.edu.au (Ruth Orr) — Fri, 04 Feb 2022 00:36:14 GMT

Our staff have commenced the year with professional development days. Held over two days and covering

first aid, anaphylaxis and child safety training and updates. Thanks to the team from First Aid Training Group for providing the first aid training, and to Opa Greek Food for providing a delicious morning tea and lunch on the first day.

On day 2 staff heard a message from Pastor Michael Goyne from Enjoy Church Ballarat before an address from Principal Ken Nuridin and updates from the Executive team.

Thank you for BalCC Alum, Millie Williams-Kane from Wild Honey Grazing Co. for providing a beautiful morning tea, and to Stockade on Rubicon for providing a wonderful lunch.

Kindness Buddies

ROrr@balcc.vic.edu.au (Ruth Orr) — Fri, 04 Feb 2022 00:11:58 GMT

A bunch of flowers, a hot coffee, a box of chocolates, a note of encouragement was just some of the ways staff have showed kindness to one another this year. Throughout 2021 BalCC staff took part in a kindness buddy program, that has seen them giving and receiving small gifts or acts of kindness. The program was optional and undertaken by staff in their own time and at their own expense.

It was wonderful to receive updates from staff on the many ways they were shown kindness by their fellow staff. Here are a few photos of some of the acts of kindness.

Thank you to Upper Primary teacher, Beth Simonis for organising and coordinating the program throughout 2021.

“In everything I did, I showed you that by this kind of hard work we must help the weak, remembering the words the Lord Jesus himself said: ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’ ” Acts 20:35 NIV

BalCC 2021 Highest ATAR Achiever

ROrr@balcc.vic.edu.au (Ruth Orr) — Thu, 03 Feb 2022 23:59:42 GMT

Congratulations to all our Year 12 students on all their hard work throughout 2021. Well done to all our VCE students on their results and dedication. A special mention to Matthew for receiving the highest ATAR score for 2021.

Matthew is aiming to study a Bachelor of Engineering (honours) next year at Federation University. He hopes to eventually become an engineer involved with mechanical design, computational engineering and AI learning.

We wish all our Year 12 students the very best in their future endeavours and encourage them to stay in touch with us and become involved in our alumni and volunteer program. Find us on Facebook as Ballarat Christian College Alumni .

BBQ Trailer Donation from Rotary Wendouree

ROrr@balcc.vic.edu.au (Ruth Orr) — Thu, 03 Feb 2022 23:51:40 GMT

Thank you to the Rotary Club of Wendouree for donating their barbecue trailer to BalCC. Sadly after sixty-four years of service to the Ballarat community, the Wendouree club is disbanding due to declining memberships. Rotary is global organisation that provides services to others, promotes integrity, and advances world understanding, goodwill, and peace through their fellowship of business, professional, and community leaders.

The barbecue trailer was presented to Principal, Ken Nuridin by Rotary Club of Wendouree President, Val Shiel and will be a wonderful addition to our College. Ms Shiel also presented cash donations on behalf of The Rotary Club of Wendouree to Yuille Park Community College and Ballarat Hospice Care Inc.

Alumni News - Class of 2019: Breaks High Jump Record

ROrr@balcc.vic.edu.au (Ruth Orr) — Thu, 03 Feb 2022 23:47:40 GMT

Congratulations to BalCC Alum, Yual Reath for becoming the fourth Australian the 2021 calendar year to clear 2.25 metres in high jump. The jump was Yual’s first for the 2021 season and was made during the Athletics Victoria Shield League in late December last year. The 2.25 metre jump breaks the previous high jump record in any open competition at the Ballarat Regional Athletics Centre and it is expected that this jump will qualify Yual for Athletics Australia financial support to compete overseas and on the domestic circuit.

Yual’s Ballarat Trainer, Paul Cleary has backed him to challenge for a place in the 2022 Commonwealth Games and World Athletics Championships. Yual combines his training with his full-time job as a landscaper. During his time at BalCC Yual was active in athletics and was a College Vice-Captain, and we proudly watch on as Yual’s star continues to rise.

Student Achievement: Year 10 receives Top Girl Guide Award

ROrr@balcc.vic.edu.au (Ruth Orr) — Thu, 03 Feb 2022 23:29:23 GMT

Congratulations to Year 10 student, Nyajima on being presented with the Baden-Powell award (BPA), the highest award given out by the Girl Guides movement. Nyajima attends the 11th Ballarat Girl Guides and received the BPA at their recent presentation evening.

The BPA is one of Guiding’s peak achievement awards and is named after the founder, Robert Baden-Powell. The award requirements are that each girl completes three challenges in each of six of the seven fundamentals of the Australian Guide Program - Promise and Law, Service, Guiding Traditions, World Guiding, Outdoors and Patrol System. The seventh fundamental is Leadership which is integral to all of the other areas.

Completing BPA during the COVID-19 pandemic has been challenging for Nyajima, but she forged ahead and undertook many activities and learnt many new skills. Some of her achievements were to lead a real campfire experience for her fellow Girl Guides, demonstrate how to make a light-weight ballista from bamboo stakes and rubber-band lashings on GGTV (the Girl Guides YouTube channel), going abseiling, sailing and gaining her Boating 2 badge in canoeing. She also organised a night where her mother and auntie demonstrated the cooking of African food. The Guides enjoyed making yot-yot, a flat bread and making couscous the traditional way, not out of a packet. During Zoom meetings Nyajima demonstrated how to make sushi from Japan and used a PowerPoint presentation to teach the Guides something about ‘Our Cabana’, the Guide World Centre in Mexico and Mexican traditions. During another Zoom session, Nyajima met with a large group of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts from the Asia Pacific Region. This was organised by a leader from Malaya and at least fifteen different countries were represented.

Nyajima is a Patrol Leader and represents her patrol well at Patrol Leaders’ Council. She has led her Patrol to build a ballista from poles, ropes and lashings to fire water bombs at our local Scouts and organised a successful indoor rock-climbing activity for her unit. This involved booking the venue (and changing the date many times due to COVID-19 restrictions), preparing the risk assessment and completing the correct paperwork. With the other BPA Guides, Nyajima planned and enjoyed a special Girls’ Day Out – something they had not done before.

Nyajima began Guides as a seven year old with Eureka Butterfly Guides. Since then, she has grown in confidence and consciously developed her leadership skills. Nyajima is also working on her Bronze Duke of Edinburgh Award this year as part of the BalCC Micah 6:8 program. Well done Nyajima.

We love to hear about our student’s achievements, so if you would like to share information and photos of achievements, please email connect@balcc.vic.edu.au

Thank You From BalCC

ROrr@balcc.vic.edu.au (Ruth Orr) — Thu, 09 Dec 2021 21:07:39 GMT

Thank you to all the parents, families and carers who have blessed our BalCC Staff with acts of kindness throughout 2021. A special thank you to Trisha in Year 6 and her mum, Raakhee for preparing some North Indian cuisine this week as a way of sharing their love for food with our staff.

Raakhee said “Even though this is one of the world's spiciest cuisines, we did our best to make it just right hope it was not too hot, just enough for a few volcanic eruptions in your mouth. The dishes we prepared were Chana masala or Chickpea masala an extremely flavoursome curry, best paired with the simple Cumin, Potato and Cauli Pulav (Rice), or the good ol' Naan bread. A curry meal would not be the same without Papadam and Raita, a classic yoghurt dip that has a contrast cooling effect. Another go to snack are the hot Samosas as they add a little kick to the meal. We enjoyed putting this together for you all as a thank you to the sensational staff for a wonderful year. God Bless You All! And here is wishing that your lives are full of sugar with a tinge of spice and everything nice!”

Year 6: Catherine King MP Visit

ROrr@balcc.vic.edu.au (Ruth Orr) — Thu, 09 Dec 2021 21:03:18 GMT

On Tuesday our Year 6 students were visited by Catherine King, Federal Member for Ballarat, as part of their Civics and Citizenship studies into the Australian system of government. Ms King spoke to the students about the different levels of government and her role in government, before doing a Q&A with the Year 6s.

Secondary: Amazing Grace Race

ROrr@balcc.vic.edu.au (Ruth Orr) — Thu, 09 Dec 2021 21:01:01 GMT

This week our Year 7-9 students have taken part in some fun activities to end the school year. Students moved in rotations to jewellery making, bingo, handball competitions, trivia, video and board games, Kahoot!, Cooking, Christmas craft, and design technologies, sport and fitness challenges. They also took part in an Amazing Grace challenge that saw them break up in groups to complete an obstacle course around the College.

2022 College Captains Announced

ROrr@balcc.vic.edu.au (Ruth Orr) — Thu, 09 Dec 2021 07:17:33 GMT

At our end of year Celebration Evening event the 2022 College Captains were announced. Year 11 students Leslie and Brielle were elected Captains and Harry elected Vice-Captain. Congratulations to all students. We look forward to what each student will bring to their role.

Christmas Dress-up Day

ROrr@balcc.vic.edu.au (Ruth Orr) — Thu, 09 Dec 2021 07:01:43 GMT

Our students and staff had fun dressing up in Christmas outfits to celebrate the festive season. We wish everyone a wonderful Christmas and a restful end of term break.

“For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.” Isaiah 9:6 NIV

Celebration Evening 2021

ROrr@balcc.vic.edu.au (Ruth Orr) — Thu, 09 Dec 2021 06:57:28 GMT

Our annual Celebration Evening was held this week. The event was open to visitors and also live streamed. Throughout the evening the following awards were presented:

Catherine King Award for Community Service

Scott Collins

This award is given to a volunteer who has significantly contributed to the welfare of the College.

Ampol Best All-Rounder Award

Leslie T - Year 11

In recognition of a student’s excellence in leadership, service and community, Sport, Arts and culture, attitude and personal conduct.

ADF Long Tan Youth Leadership Award – Year 10 Student

Nyadoar M - Year 10

Recognising students who have demonstrated outstanding leadership and teamwork qualities in the College and broader local community. Recognise those who display strong values – doing one’s best, respect for others and ‘mateship’.

ADF Long Tan Youth Leadership Award – Year 12 Student

Emma-Jayne G - Year 12

ADF Future Innovators Award – Year 10 Student

Caelan H - Year 10

A student who demonstrates innovation and a level of motivation in the learning area of STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering & Maths).

The Judy Duke Art Award

Rebecca P - Year 7

In recognition of a Christian student who has undertaken an Art subject, who also manifests the fruit of the Spirit, demonstrates knowledge of God’s Word, honours God in their work & uses their God-given talent.

Campion Education Primary School Community Award

Alice McI - Year 6

In recognition of a Primary student who has demonstrated community spirit within the College.

Principal’s Primary School Encouragement Award

Aiva M - Year 5

In recognition of a Primary student for excellent effort.

McLean’s Cleaning Primary School Academic Award

Tegan H - Year 6

In recognition of a Primary student who has demonstrated academic excellence.

Certificate III in Christian Studies Shield

Emma-Jayne G - Year 12

Awarded to the top graduating student in Year 12 for the Certificate III in Christian Studies.

Principal’s Secondary School Community Award

Hannah McI - Year 7

In recognition of a lower secondary student who has demonstrated community spirit within the College.

Principal’s Secondary School Encouragement Award

Miah W - Year 8

In recognition of a lower secondary student who has demonstrated excellent effort.

McLean’s Cleaning Secondary School Academic Award

Seth C - Year 9

In recognition of a lower secondary student who has demonstrated academic excellence.

Principal’s Award for Outstanding Student in Performing Arts

Zia W - Year 8

In recognition of a student who has demonstrated outstanding performance in the Performing Arts.

Principal’s Award for Outstanding Student in Languages (LOTE)

Freya M - Year 8

In recognition of a student who has demonstrated academic and personal excellence in Languages other than English (LOTE).

Principal’s Award for VET Excellence

Nathaniel W - Year 12

In recognition of a vocational educational and training student for outstanding performance.

Principal’s VCAL Excellence Award

Kaleb J - Year 12

In recognition of a VCAL student for outstanding achievement.

Community Bank Buninyong Year 12 Excellence Award

Mikayla S

In recognition of a Year 12 student who has demonstrated academic excellence.

Board Christian Mission/Service Award

Emma-Jayne G - Year 12

In recognition of a senior secondary student who has made a decision of faith and demonstrates a desire and commitment to follow Christ & His call by participating in an overseas or local Christian mission training for service.

End of Year Awards Year 3-11

ROrr@balcc.vic.edu.au (Ruth Orr) — Thu, 09 Dec 2021 06:57:26 GMT

Over the last few weeks end of year awards have been presented to students in Years 3-11, along with awards for subjects.

Year 3

Faith F - Christian Citizenship

George T - Christian Citizenship

Isaac J - Most Improved

Isabelle S - Most Improved

Max T - Academic All-Rounder

Dakota C - Academic All-Rounder

Year 4

Easen Z - Christian Citizenship

Meg McI - Christian Citizenship

Sarah V - Most Improved

Kueth G - Most Improved

Melody S - Academic All-Rounder

Ezekiel C - Academic All-Rounder

Year 5

Sara J - Christian Citizenship

Nathan F - Christian Citizenship

Aiva M - Most Improved

Jasper J - Most Improved

Gabriel P - Academic All-Rounder

Melissa P - Academic All-Rounder

Year 6

Jordy W - Christian Citizenship

Alice McI - Christian Citizenship

Thomas F - Most Improved

Charlotte T - Most Improved

Heath L - Academic All-Rounder

Trisha K - Academic All-Rounder

Year 7

Hannah McI - Christian Citizenship

Edgian R, Daniel R, Adam C - Most Improved

Rebecca P & Ashleigh S - Academic All-Rounder

Year 8

Zia W - Christian Citizenship

Miah W - Most Improved

Jason M, Kate O’N, Adam L- Academic All-Rounder

Year 9

Manus A - Christian Citizenship

Nathaniel T, Rylan W - Most Improved

Seth C, Micah S - Academic All-Rounder

Year 10

Emma O’N - Christian Citizenship

Charlie C - Most Improved

Emma O’N - Academic All-Rounder

Year 11

Leslie T - Christian Citizenship

Dylan C - Most Improved

Leslie T - Academic All-Rounder

LOTE Primary – December Theme

ROrr@balcc.vic.edu.au (Ruth Orr) — Thu, 09 Dec 2021 06:57:17 GMT

Every month Madame Weightman has been decorating a mannequin in the LOTE room with a French theme. For the month of December (décembre) it was la fête des lumières (the festival of Lights). Held in Lyon, every house traditionally placed candles along the outside of all their windows. Nowadays, the festival includes other activities based on light to produce a spectacular effect. During the festival many streets are closed and only pedestrians are allowed. There are light shows, food stalls and performances.

We wish Madame Weightman well as she relocates to NSW to take up a position as a Year 5 teacher in another Christian school.

Staff Profile: Evette Walter

ROrr@balcc.vic.edu.au (Ruth Orr) — Wed, 08 Dec 2021 21:40:53 GMT

Evette completed her Bachelor of Arts/ Bachelor of Teaching degree at Ballarat University in 2004 and taught at Mount Pleasant Primary school for several years before having children.

In 2008 she moved to Sydney with her family, returning to Ballarat in 2016 and enrolling her three children at BalCC. Soon after this Evette began casual relief teaching at the College and has since taught in Years 1, 2 and 4 and currently teaches three days a week in Lower Primary, team teaching with Bianca Francica. Evette is married to Tim, who is the Senior Pastor of York Street Church of Christ.

BalCC Board Profile: Jodie Rickard

ROrr@balcc.vic.edu.au (Ruth Orr) — Wed, 08 Dec 2021 21:38:29 GMT

Jodie is married to Chris and moved from Melbourne to Ballarat thirty-three years ago. She has four adult children and three grandchildren. Each of her children have spent some time as students at BalCC Her eldest child helped make up the required ten students many years ago when the school operated out of relocatable classrooms in Vickers street. She currently lives at Beaufort and attends Beaufort Community Church.

“Blessed is the man who walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly” Psalm 1.1 was the scripture Jodie read after having her first child that inspired her to either home school or have her children taught by Christians. Jodie has a commitment to lifelong learning .

Jodie is a Registered Nurse and works at a regional hospital. She and Chris are involved in training and facilitating Liberian young adults to fulfil their calling to care for orphans in Liberia, Africa. They are currently overseeing the building of a residential complex for this purpose in Monrovia, as well as assisting other Christian leaders in Liberia with their vision.

Alumni News - Class of 2020

ROrr@balcc.vic.edu.au (Ruth Orr) — Wed, 08 Dec 2021 21:33:10 GMT

** CLASS OF 2020 – JOSIAH TUDBALL **

Josiah is currently preparing to head off to Cambodia on a six month mission trip with Youth With A Mission (YWAM). Josiah was the 2020 winner of the BalCC Board Christian Mission/Service award. This award is given in recognition of a senior Secondary School student who has made a decision of faith and demonstrates a desire and commitment to follow Christ and His call by participating in an overseas or local Christian mission training for service.

Please uphold Josiah in your prayers as he travels away from home with and commences his YWAM mission trip. To learn more about YWAM head to: https://ywam.org/

Thank You: Volunteers' Morning Tea

ROrr@balcc.vic.edu.au (Ruth Orr) — Fri, 03 Dec 2021 02:02:18 GMT

Today we held a morning tea for our BalCC volunteers. A big thank you to all those who give of their time to assist with various volunteer roles and tasks at the College.

If you are interested in learning more about being a volunteer at BalCC contact our Administration Office for an information pack.

Year 12 Mentoring Program

ROrr@balcc.vic.edu.au (Ruth Orr) — Fri, 03 Dec 2021 00:22:21 GMT

At the start of each year BalCC Staff are invited to become mentors to the Year 12 students. The mentoring program has been running at the College for a number of years now and sees Year 12 students matched with a staff member. What this looks like will depend on what the student’s needs may be and the catch ups may be weekly or fortnightly chats. Mentoring is an opportunity to encourage, to pray with and for the student, but also offer practical advice such as helping with time management or organisational skills.

This year our PA to the Heads of School, Accounts and First Aid Officer, Jenny MacRae mentored Year 12 student, Mikayla. Here Jenny shares about her mentoring experience: “What a privilege it has been to mentor one of the 2021 Year 12 students. We quickly settled into a routine of meeting once a week, when COVID-19 lockdowns allowed, to chat about her subjects and whether she felt she was on track or not with regards to the various tasks she had to complete, and how she was scheduling her work and study to keep on top of things. It was wonderful to hear of the dreams and aspirations Mikayla had for her future, but equally important to hear her talk through the struggles and the challenges she perceived she would need to overcome.

It was certainly my aim to be a listening ear and an encourager, but I must admit I was inspired more than once by the strength and resilience I saw in this amazing young person. I look forward to hearing in the future just how she has managed to progress the steps to achieving her career and personal goals. May I encourage each one of you to consider being a mentor. I believe, like me, you will certainly get more out of it than you thought you would.”

During her Year 12 Graduation speech Mikayla thanked Jenny for her support and encouragement during the year. Mikayla aims to do a Bachelor of Medical Imaging at either Deakin University or RMIT or study Psychological Science at Federation Uni. She is also considering a gap year to work in 2022 and hopes to get in some travel.

Year 9: Helping Others

ROrr@balcc.vic.edu.au (Ruth Orr) — Fri, 03 Dec 2021 00:08:32 GMT

Throughout 2021 our Year 9 students have undertaken the bronze level of The Duke of Edinburgh International award. As part of their tasks the Year 9s have been mentoring in the primary school, demonstrating their kitchen skills in the Canteen and working in the College garden growing vegetables for the Salvation Army. The award is undertaken as part of the BalCC Year 9 ‘Micah 6:8’ program.

Prep-LPA-LPB Camps

ROrr@balcc.vic.edu.au (Ruth Orr) — Thu, 02 Dec 2021 23:53:29 GMT

Our Prep and Lower Primary A and B classes had lots of fun on their recent camps. The Prep day camp ran from 1:00-7:00pm with art and craft, sport rotations and pavement drawing. The LPA and LPB camp was a sleepover at the College, along with a walk to the Yarrowee River Trail wetlands, a movie, craft and games. All the classes came together for a dinner of pizza and ice-creams.

Staff Profile: Steve Shaw

ROrr@balcc.vic.edu.au (Ruth Orr) — Thu, 02 Dec 2021 23:20:56 GMT

Steve Shaw - Chaplain & Student Wellbeing

Steve has been on staff at BalCC since 2007 as the College Chaplain and as a member of the Student Wellbeing team. Steve has been in Christian ministry since 1992 in varying capacities. For the past fifteen years he has been the pastor of Heritage Baptist Church in Ballarat. Finishing his theological studies in 1991 Steve went back to study counselling through AIFC.

Over the past fifteen years Steve has led numerous ministry camps for students to experience Christian service and has run numerous cultural and missions focused incursions where students are immersed in the full range of Christian ministry, from translation work, to overcoming cultural barriers, to hands on building villages. Steve is passionate about helping students see God’s design for their lives.

To read more Staff Profiles head to the Our Team page of our website: https://www.balcc.vic.edu.au/about-us#our-team

Student Achievement: Year 5 Wins Education Award

ROrr@balcc.vic.edu.au (Ruth Orr) — Thu, 02 Dec 2021 23:17:49 GMT

STUDENT ACHEIVEMENT: Congratulations to Martha in Year 5 for winning the Ballarat Regional Multicultural Council (BRMC) MY Education Award in the Outstanding Student - Primary category.

Martha has been attending the Diversity Homework Club for two years and has shown great initiative in creating activities for her fellow students. Martha has navigated her learning with pride and confidence and has been an inspiration for many students to sign up for the program.

Diversity Homework Club is one of the largest regional clubs in Victoria, supporting over fifty students. Over the last two years, Diversity Homework Club team have reached out to the community in a variety of innovative ways to address their social and emotional wellbeing, and learning needs

Primary Cricket Program

ROrr@balcc.vic.edu.au (Ruth Orr) — Thu, 02 Dec 2021 23:15:47 GMT

Our Primary students were involved in a cricket program this term in Health and Physical Education classes. The Government's Sporting Schools Program could not provide coaches this year due to Covid restrictions, however the College received funding for cricket equipment instead.

Most classes participated in two hand-eye coordination sessions plus a hitting and mini games session. Learning to drive the ball and hit long was a focus for many upper Primary classes this year. While the Lower and Middle primaries focussed on holding bat correctly, taking a step towards the ball when hitting a drive, watching the ball, hitting with the flat side of the bat and standing in a good hitting position. The highlight of our sessions for most students was a mini cricket game in small groups at the end of the term.

Cricket is a complex game with an array of skills, rules and strategies. We were unable to cover all the skills this time around, so our plan is to continue working on our skills in coming years. In the past the College has actively competed in local Woolworths Cricket Blast School's Competition held at Victoria Park and Pink Stumps day at school. We're all looking forward to the finer weather continuing so we can continue to be actively playing games outdoors.

Year 9: Duke of Edinburgh Registration

ROrr@balcc.vic.edu.au (Ruth Orr) — Thu, 02 Dec 2021 23:06:47 GMT

This week we welcomed all our new students for 2022 for a whole College Orientation Day. As part of their orientation our current Year 8 students completed their registrations for The Duke of Edinburgh’s International Award at the Bronze level. This award is undertaken as part of the BalCC Year 9 ‘Micah 6:8’ program and sees students completing a voluntary service, skill, physical recreation and an adventurous journey.

The students were assisted in completing their registrations by The Duke of Edinburgh International Programs and Engagement staff who visited to provide information and guidance on the program and help students brainstorm ideas and goals. We can’t wait to see what our Year 9s of 2022 achieve during the program.

Student Achievement: Year 11 Visual Communication Design

ROrr@balcc.vic.edu.au (Ruth Orr) — Thu, 02 Dec 2021 22:58:24 GMT

STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT: Congratulations to Year 11 student, Penny on receiving an academic excellence award for her VCE Units 1 & 2 in Visual Communication Design with Virtual School Victoria.

During the year Penny learnt about three fields of design – Industrial Design, Communication Design and Environmental Design. She had tasks to do for each of those three design fields and Penny excelled in each task. Some of her tasks included designing a phone cover, designing a new drink bottle, environmental design floorplans and elevations.

Penny was able to demonstrate her excellent skills in drawing manually with various media and designing on her laptop with various programs, including Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop.

Penny will undertake Units 3 & 4 of Visual Communication Design next year and hopes to go on to study to be an architect and further her interest in eco-friendly buildings.

Year 6 Sovereign Hill Costume School

ROrr@balcc.vic.edu.au (Ruth Orr) — Fri, 26 Nov 2021 02:28:34 GMT

Students in Year 6 were transported back to the 1800s when they attended an excursion to the Sovereign Hill Costume School last week. Dressed in period costume typical of school aged children in the goldfields, they were taught the three Rs (reading, writing and arithmetic) in a Wesleyan School, a church building located at the top of Sovereign Hill. Members of the Sovereign Hill community came to visit the students which added to the experience with some students even receiving “apprenticeships” by the visiting merchants and business owners. A particular highlight was when a law officer did a mock chase of a student from our class along the main street. Thinking that he had gotten away, the look on the student’s face when the officer came to the school demanding to see him was priceless.

There were many other enjoyable moments during their time at Sovereign Hill – the gold pour, gold panning along the creek, playing with toys from the time period, having hot chocolate at the bakery. These are just some memories that the Year 6 class of 2021 will remember fondly in the years to come.

Christmas Around Campus

ROrr@balcc.vic.edu.au (Ruth Orr) — Fri, 26 Nov 2021 02:05:35 GMT

It is beginning to look a lot like Christmas around campus. The Year 5s have been busy decorating their classroom, the Year 9-10 Food Technology students have been making and icing gingerbread houses, and the Year 5-7 students have been creating Christmas art.

CHRISTMAS DRESS-UP DAY AT BALCC

On Tuesday 7th December the Ballarat Christian College community will be participating in a Christmas Dress-up Day.

Staff and all students are encouraged to dress in Christmas themed costumes.

There is no cost involved, parents are welcome to dress up and (legally) decorate their cars too!

Primary students will also enjoy Christmas themed activities on the day.

Year 6 Camp

ROrr@balcc.vic.edu.au (Ruth Orr) — Fri, 26 Nov 2021 01:51:45 GMT

The Year 6 students have enjoyed five days on camp in Bendigo and Ballarat. The students journeyed around Bendigo on the Vintage Talking Tram. The tram tour gave the students the opportunity to learn more about Bendigo's history and see the city's key landmarks and monuments.

Day 3 was an early start for our Year 6s with a morning visit to the Bendigo Discovery Science & Technology Centre. The centre inspires and nurtures scientific curiosity and fun with over 100 hands-on science exhibits.

Day 4 saw the students arrive at Sovereign Hill’s historical pastoral property, Narmbool in Elaine. On the program for the day was an interpretation of an Aboriginal painting and puzzle, games, making bush shelters, and a bush walk to an Aboriginal silcrete quarry.

On their final at Narmbool the students spent some time doing Science activities before heading home after an exciting week of fun and learning.

Year 3 & 4 Camp

ROrr@balcc.vic.edu.au (Ruth Orr) — Fri, 26 Nov 2021 01:47:23 GMT

The Year 3 and 4 students have enjoyed a two day camp that saw them visit Extreme Bounce and Sovereign Hill. Back on campus the students enjoyed games and food before sleeping over the night at the College.

Thank you to the BalCC Staff and parents who helped with the camp.

Student Achievement: Year 9 Sam Wins Best & Fairest

ROrr@balcc.vic.edu.au (Ruth Orr) — Fri, 26 Nov 2021 01:37:22 GMT

Congratulations to Year 9 student, Sam on winning the Central Highlands Football League Under 15 Best and Fairest. Sam plays for Buninyong Football Club.

We love to hear about our student’s achievements outside of the College. Please feel free to email student achievements and photos to connnect@balcc.vic.edu.au

Year 6 Graduation Service & Luncheon

ROrr@balcc.vic.edu.au (Ruth Orr) — Fri, 26 Nov 2021 01:33:27 GMT

Our Year 6 students have celebrated the end of their primary schooling with a Graduation Chapel service and luncheon in our Multi-Purpose Centre. The service was live streamed to families and students, with only a small number of parents and family members attending the event due to COVID-19 restrictions. The students gave farewell speeches during the service and performed a dance they had created, before enjoying lunch together. We wish all our Year 6 students the very best as they commence their secondary education.

Staff Profile: Heather Paxman

ROrr@balcc.vic.edu.au (Ruth Orr) — Fri, 26 Nov 2021 00:20:38 GMT

Heather has been working in education for much of her teaching career. She has always maintained a passion for working with youth and young people and was heavily involved in children’s and youth camping programs through camping organisations such as Scripture Union and, after moving to Victoria, ESA Country Ministries.

‘Every child is an individual and will learn with the right support’ has always been Heather’s motto. She believes we each have a purpose and it is an honour to support children as they discover what it is that God has planned for them to do.

School was always a big challenge for Heather as a child. Since then, she has been determined to do her best to ‘make a difference’ for her students and do what she could to make their experience positive and rewarding.

“I have always had a passion to support students who learn differently. I studied Special Education at university and spent many years working in settings where I was able to support student and adults with additional needs. My favourite phrases to hear are “Ahhh, I get it now!” and “Thanks, your help really made a difference!” It makes all the hard work so worthwhile.”

To read more Staff Profiles head to the Our Team page of our website: https://www.balcc.vic.edu.au/about-us#our-team

Year 12 Graduation & Assembly

ROrr@balcc.vic.edu.au (Ruth Orr) — Fri, 26 Nov 2021 00:06:31 GMT

Our Year 12 Graduation Assembly was held last week. Each Year 12 was walked in and out of the assembly by their Prep buddy. The Year 12s were presented with a sash, certificate and gift, and had the opportunity to give a short speech. The assembly was followed by a walkaround campus to the cheers and applause of College students and staff, and a morning tea. We wish all our Year 12s the very best, as they head off on their next adventure.

Year 12 Formal

ROrr@balcc.vic.edu.au (Ruth Orr) — Thu, 25 Nov 2021 22:19:39 GMT

Our Year 12 Formal took place last week at the Ballarat Golf Club. Students, staff and families enjoyed a three course meal and trivia games. The evening was a great time of fun and fellowship, even though COVID-19 restrictions meant we couldn’t have the usual dancing and band.

“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” Jeremiah 29:11 NIV

Reverse Advent Calendar Ballarat

ROrr@balcc.vic.edu.au (Ruth Orr) — Thu, 18 Nov 2021 23:30:29 GMT

This year as a school we are going to be participating in the Reverse Advent Calendar Ballarat.

Unlike a regular Advent Calendar where the focus is on receiving a treat every day the Reverse Advent Calendar takes the focus off receiving and places the focus on giving to others.

A Reverse Advent Calendar begins as an empty box. Each day during December you place one item (non-perishable food, toiletries, Christmas treat) into the box. After 20 days your filled Reverse Advent Calendar is dropped off to York St Church of Christ where it is distributed by food relief agencies to people in your immediate community who are experiencing food insecurity. Here in Ballarat our boxes will be distributed to the Salvation Army, Anglicare, Uniting Care, the Ballarat Soup Bus, Wendouree West Exodus Community and Ballarat Community Health. Each homeroom will have a box in the class and students are encouraged to bring in non-perishable items to fill the box, once the box is filled we will start another!

Some of the suggested items for the box are canned fruit, canned vegetables, canned tuna, baked beans, soups, long life milk, juice, coffee, tea and milo, spreads such as vegemite, peanut butter or jam. Rice, pasta and noodles, cereal, muesli bars, toiletries, Christmas treat food. Students can start bringing in items from Monday 22 November right up until the end of the year.

Staff Profile: Kaylene Templar

ROrr@balcc.vic.edu.au (Ruth Orr) — Thu, 18 Nov 2021 23:25:07 GMT

Kaylene has been involved in Ballarat Christian College for over ten years, firstly as a parent and then a member on the teaching staff. She teaches Mathematics up to Year 12 and Years 7-8 Digital Technology.

Kaylene’s first teaching position was at Donvale Christian College then Kaylene and her husband taught at international schools in South Korea and Indonesia. When returning to Australia and settling in her husband’s hometown, she began teaching Mathematics at Ballarat Grammar School and commenced in 2014 at BalCC.

Kaylene enjoys the being active and the outdoors, whether it is mountain bike riding, swimming, bush walking or camping with family and friends.

To read more Staff Profiles head to the Our Team page of our website: https://www.balcc.vic.edu.au/about-us#our-team

Year 12 Celebration Day

ROrr@balcc.vic.edu.au (Ruth Orr) — Thu, 18 Nov 2021 23:20:44 GMT

Prior to their Graduation Assembly our Year 12 students take part in a Celebration Day. This year’s Celebration Day saw the students return to Primary school for some classes, enjoy a three course lunch and take part in an ‘Amazing Race’ around campus collecting clues from their teachers. Congratulations to the Year 12 class of 2021 for their determination, resilience and positive attitudes during a year of challenges. We wish each of one of them the very best for their future endeavours.

Scholastic Book Fair

ROrr@balcc.vic.edu.au (Ruth Orr) — Thu, 18 Nov 2021 22:57:35 GMT

The Scholastic Book Fair commenced this week in our Library and will run until Friday 26 November. Scholastic Book Fairs provide a range of recently published children’s books and educational products from Australia and around the world. Novelty items are also available. There are online and cash payment options available.

Please refer to the email sent out on 3 November for further details.

Mustard Bible Study Activity

ROrr@balcc.vic.edu.au (Ruth Orr) — Thu, 18 Nov 2021 22:44:43 GMT

This week the Mustard Bible Study group organised a game of ‘Nine Square in the Air’ for all students to take part in.

Mustard is a student led bible study that is held once a week during lunch for interested Secondary students.

The students access resources provided by Mustard, a Christian ministry who exist to empower young people to be fully alive forever. The lunchtime gatherings are an opportunity for students to gather together for support and connection, to explore the ideas that shape their thinking, and to consider what it means to live as a young person of faith. To learn more about Mustard head to: https://mustard.org.au/

Remembrance Day 2022

ROrr@balcc.vic.edu.au (Ruth Orr) — Fri, 12 Nov 2021 02:13:56 GMT

Every year, on the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11 month, Australians pause to remember the service and sacrifice of our servicemen and women. This day, Remembrance Day, has been observed in Australia since the end of World War 1 and commemorates servicemen and women who suffered or died in the line of duty.

This week our Secondary Visual Arts students and our Art Faculty Coordinator, Carol Clough created artworks around the red poppy that is worn on Remembrance day to honour the service of our veterans. The red poppies were amongst the first to flower in the devastated battlefields of northern France and Belgium in the First World War and are a universal symbol of remembrance and a reminder of the human cost of war.

Prep Orientation 2022

ROrr@balcc.vic.edu.au (Ruth Orr) — Fri, 12 Nov 2021 02:03:00 GMT

This week we welcomed the Prep class of 2022 for an orientation session. The Preps spent the morning getting to know one another, playing musical games, doing some craft, listening to a story and having a snack break. The new Preps also spent some time naming and cuddling their new teddy bears, given to them by their teacher, Michelle Collins. A big welcome to the Preps of 2022. We look forward to your next visit later this term.

Alumni News: 2010 Sam Blackmore

ROrr@balcc.vic.edu.au (Ruth Orr) — Fri, 12 Nov 2021 01:46:48 GMT

Today we are hearing about what Sam has been up to since he graduated from BalCC. In 2013 Sam moved to Oregon in the United States to marry his wife, Crystal. Here Crystal shares with us what Sam has been doing for the past eight years:

“Sam started out at some odds and ends jobs when he first moved to America (from office help to random handyman work, to managing properties for a friend), but he really started finding his calling about when he joined a local tree company. He thoroughly invested himself into learning the trade, the trees, etc, and after a couple years on the job, split off and created his own tree business as an arborist trading as ‘Good Bloke Tree Care’. He has owned and run this business successfully for almost six years. God has blessed his work and Sam currently has two employees.

Marriage was hard to get used to at a young age (we were 21 and 23) and with culture differences, but with the support of family, church, our pastor, we got the hang of it! The Lord has continued to grow our friendship and love over the years, and we have FUN together!

In October 2020, we welcomed our first baby, Charlie Rae Blackmore, a PERFECT baby girl! You would probably all picture Sam as a boy dad, but man does he make a KILLER girl daddy! He is so gentle with her, but also loves to play around and chase/run after her/play wrestle (she’s only thirteen months, but she can take it). He makes her giggle a lot, and we often find ourselves just watching her and connecting even deeper in our marriage as we both find SO MUCH JOY in parenthood. On that note, we are eighteen weeks pregnant with OUR SECOND baby girl right now. We can’t wait for the girls to be close in age and grow up together! We are also so excited to travel back to Australia when things open up more so that his family and close friends can meet the babies!

I’m sure you all have recovered from Sammy’s ratbag-ness by now (and I’m sure you have repeated some stories around the dinner table about him many times over the years). I’m happy to confirm that Sammy is still Sammy! Cheeky, fun, upbeat, POSITIVE…and ornery (that’s American for ratbag). I’m sure he’s toned down a lot over the years though, but he can still give it to ya!

Sam is still playing those drums! He volunteers on the worship team every month and every now and then finds the time to hit the kit for fun. His girls are his biggest fans!”

Primary Merit Awards

ROrr@balcc.vic.edu.au (Ruth Orr) — Fri, 12 Nov 2021 01:46:10 GMT

Congratulations to all our Primary School Merit Award recipients. Merits are awarded when students consistently display our College values of Respect, Compassion, Honesty, Commitment, Unity and Excellence.

This week three Primary students were highly commended by our Head of Primary, Bianca Francica for their ongoing positive contribution to the Primary School. Thank you to all those students who make our College a wonderful place to be.

Staff Profile: Julie Gall

ROrr@balcc.vic.edu.au (Ruth Orr) — Fri, 12 Nov 2021 01:33:24 GMT

Teaching has been Julie’s passion for as long as she can remember. Julie grew up in Melbourne and enjoyed all her younger years in a wonderful Melbourne primary school and her secondary school years in Frankston, where graduated Year 12 and went on to Frankston Teachers College.

Julie went on to teach in some of the best country schools in Victoria. “It was my privilege to be part of a team of parents and educators who established a great Christian school in the West Gippsland area and go on to teach there for a time before heading to Leongatha Christian College and working with a fabulous group of people from the South Gippsland region. “

After meeting and marrying, Don, who she met in a College musical production and becoming the mother of three wonderful children, Amy, Justin and Emily, she has enjoyed working both in school and church life in Gippsland and now in Ballarat. “The greatest joy in my life is to see young people equipped and educated well, ready to embark on their careers and vocations, acknowledging how wonderful God is and how great are His plans for their life as they put their trust in Him. I also love music and playing my guitar, singing, dancing and cooking. I have travelled to over twenty different countries in the world and I love that I have both Greek and Australian heritage but having spent over sixteen weeks travelling around this land on a Long Service Leave vacation earlier in my teaching career, I can honestly say, it’s great to call Australia Home!”

To read more Staff Profiles head to the Our Team page of our website: https://www.balcc.vic.edu.au/about-us#our-team

Lower Primary Performing Arts

ROrr@balcc.vic.edu.au (Ruth Orr) — Thu, 04 Nov 2021 23:49:17 GMT

As part of the performing arts program this term the Lower Primary students have been creating their own music using various online platforms. They have also enjoyed revising notation by continuing to learn to play the keyboard on their iPads.

Lower Primary B: LEGO Challenges

ROrr@balcc.vic.edu.au (Ruth Orr) — Thu, 04 Nov 2021 23:34:34 GMT

The Lower Primary B students have been working with LEGO as part of their Maths and STEM studies. Each student received a challenge card and they then had to use their imagination, creativity and building skills to make their LEGO masterpiece. They also worked in pairs to design and build a bridge to cover a river. Students were encouraged to test their bridges throughout the lesson and make any necessary changes, before a final test to see how much weight the bridges could hold. Then the students presented their bridges to the class.

Alumni News: Class of 2014

ROrr@balcc.vic.edu.au (Ruth Orr) — Thu, 04 Nov 2021 23:19:14 GMT

Class of 2014: Ross Weightman

After completing Year 12 at Ballarat Christian College, Ross completed a Diploma in Sports Development at Victoria University Basketball Academy before becoming a contracted player with the Ballarat Basketball Miners. In addition, he had a fulfilling role as a Mentor/Coach for Ballarat Basketball. This allowed him to visit dozens of schools in the Ballarat area, helping to inspire and inform students.

Ross is currently studying a Business degree in Marketing from Federation University and works in hospitality in the Ballina-Byron region in NSW, recently becoming one of the managers at Lennox Hotel.

“The leadership roles I fulfilled at BalCC helped me to take on bigger roles in the wider community, such as captaining the Youth League Miners team, coming back to BalCC to coach the Bullets Basketball team in 2015 and 2016 and running coaching clinics for basketball. Although your time at school is brief, make the most of your time there because it’s so important and will lay the foundations for your future.”

To read more Alumni stories head to our Facebook page: Ballarat Christian College Alumni

Year 4 Visual Arts - Cartoon Characters

ROrr@balcc.vic.edu.au (Ruth Orr) — Thu, 04 Nov 2021 23:14:31 GMT

The Year 4 Visual Arts students were tasked with drawing a cartoon personality by shading or cross-hatching using pencils or gel pens. The lesson covered the elements of line, shape and colour, with some wonderful results.

Primary Festival of Writing Winner

ROrr@balcc.vic.edu.au (Ruth Orr) — Thu, 04 Nov 2021 23:07:39 GMT

This year marked the inaugural Festival of Writing in our Primary school which coincided with Book Week.

Students were asked to voluntarily write an original short story using the 2021 Book week theme, ‘Old worlds, new worlds, other worlds.’

Selected stories were to be published and placed in our College library for students to read.

This year's winner was Trisha in Year 6, who wrote an interesting story, called ‘Their Own World’. Congratulations Trisha on being the first published author in the Primary school. Trisha received a printed copy of her book, while another copy of her book has been put in to the College Library.

Victorian Government’s Tutor Learning Initiative

ROrr@balcc.vic.edu.au (Ruth Orr) — Thu, 04 Nov 2021 22:57:04 GMT

The Victorian Government’s Tutor Learning Initiative (TLI) enabled the College to continue to provide additional support for students who struggled to keep up with their learning program during the extended periods of remote learning. Our team of tutors includes Kylie Weightman, Glenys Jarvis and Jack McGilligan in Primary and Emma Willis, Arthur MacRae and Christine Phillips working with Years 7 – 9 students.

The TLI has been increased for Term 4 as students return onsite, enabling impacted students to make up for some of the disruption to their learning caused by the pandemic.

Our thanks and appreciation go to all our tutors and teachers who are working together to strengthen the learning support for our students.

World Teacher's Day Celebrations

ROrr@balcc.vic.edu.au (Ruth Orr) — Thu, 04 Nov 2021 22:49:19 GMT

October 29 marked ‘World Teachers Day’ in Victoria. World Teachers’ Day is a chance to recognise and celebrate the incredible contributions teachers have made in Victorian communities.

By way of thanks to our BalCC teachers we shared with gave them a coffee and cupcake to celebrate the day, and they were able to choose from a selection of small gifts, along with notes of encouragement from other BalCC Staff.

Thank You - Operation Christmas Child

ROrr@balcc.vic.edu.au (Ruth Orr) — Thu, 04 Nov 2021 22:42:52 GMT

Thank you to everyone who made a donation to this year’s Operation Christmas Child. Operation Christmas Child blesses children in need across the world by filling shoeboxes with toys, hygiene items, school supplies, and fun gifts. Boxes are collected and distributed in the name of Jesus Christ to children living in vulnerable situations.

In past year’s we have asked for donations of items, but due to the COVID-19 pandemic this year we asked for donations to cover the postage costs and the College bought the items to fill the boxes. Thank you to the BalCC Staff who donated their time to pack the boxes. We were able to make up one hundred boxes.

Operation Christmas Child is an initiative of Samartian’s Purse, an International relief organisation who are involved in distributing boxes of Christmas gifts and the Gospel message to underprivileged children overseas. More information can also be found at Operation Christmas Child | Samaritan's Purse Australia | New Zealand (samaritanspurse.org.au).

Year 9/10 LOTE: French Cooking

ROrr@balcc.vic.edu.au (Ruth Orr) — Thu, 04 Nov 2021 22:34:10 GMT

La Semaine du Goût – the Week of Taste – is a yearly event held for a week in October in schools in France. Last week College students have been learning about this event. Its aim is to educate students about good food and cooking. Students all received a paper chef’s hat with the words ‘C’est moi le chef’ (I’m the chef). The participants learnt how to cook and how to appreciate good food. In France chefs, restaurateurs, bakers and food critics visit schools to give talks and demonstrations on good food.

To celebrate this, the Year 9/10 Elective French class made two French dishes – Tartiflette – a dish from the Savoy region using potatoes, cheese, lardons and onions, and for dessert, Tarte Tatin – a caramelised apple tart with a beautiful, fanned apple slices effect.

Year 9 Visual Arts - Charcoal Drawings

ROrr@balcc.vic.edu.au (Ruth Orr) — Thu, 04 Nov 2021 22:27:36 GMT

This week our Year 9 Visual Arts students created some lovely charcoal drawings. The Year 9s were drawing objects/still life and their focus was on creating a range of tones with the charcoal. They used both Willow charcoal and compressed charcoal and achieved some great results, especially given that some of them hadn’t worked with charcoal before.

Around Campus

ROrr@balcc.vic.edu.au (Ruth Orr) — Thu, 04 Nov 2021 22:22:45 GMT

It was a busy week around campus last week. Our SRC students held their weekly meeting outdoors, the LEC ran their lunchtime crocheting club, the Preppies were busy practicing their batting skills, the Year 6s worked outdoors on an English poem and the VCAL students took part in some shed construction work.

Staff Profile: Cherine Lewis

ROrr@balcc.vic.edu.au (Ruth Orr) — Fri, 29 Oct 2021 02:43:48 GMT

Cherine Lewis - Education Support & Library

Prior to commencing work at Ballarat Christian College in 2015, Cherine worked mainly across the museum, tourism and retail sectors. Education Support and providing assistance in the Library are Cherine’s main roles at BalCC. “One of the best things about working as an ESS is simply being able to walk in a classroom and help. To be able to come alongside and encourage a student or group of students in whatever task or situation they are facing. Hearing a student call out a friendly “Hello Mrs Lewis” as I walk through the College grounds always reminds me of the privileged position I have.”

Outside of works hours Cherine spends most of her time with her husband and three children, together they seek ways to smile in everyday life.

To read more Staff Profiles head to the Our Team page of our website: https://www.balcc.vic.edu.au/about-us#our-team

BalCC Secondary Scholarships

ROrr@balcc.vic.edu.au (Ruth Orr) — Thu, 21 Oct 2021 05:17:10 GMT

Secondary Scholarships at BalCC

A limited number of scholarships are available for students entering Year 7 at Ballarat Christian College in 2022. Scholarships are awarded for three years, and students may reapply in Year 9 for a further 3 year scholarship for the remainder of their secondary schooling at the College. As this is the introductory year of this scholarship scheme at the College, the following simplified process will apply for all applicants for a scholarship:

Applications must be lodged by 4pm Friday, 12 ^th November
Applicants must submit a letter of recommendation. This letter should be from a person who knows the applicant well and is well placed to comment on the applicant’s character attributes, integrity and any other relevant factors that would commend the applicant for consideration for a scholarship. Examples of appropriate people who could provide a letter of support include the applicant’s church pastor, youth pastor, sports coach or noted member of the community (e.g., councillor or other well-regarded community identity). Letters of recommendation cannot be accepted from a member of the applicant’s family or extended family.
Academic reports:
New enrolments: copies of all school reports for Year 5 and Year 6 to date (may be supplied either in hard copy or sent electronically).
Current enrolments: the College will access and take into consideration all Year 5 and Year 6 College academic reports to date
Applicants may be requested to attend an interview, at the Principal’s discretion.

The Principal will convene a scholarship panel to consider scholarship applications. Scholarships will be awarded up to the value of 50% off the regular applicable tuition fee, but do not include the cost of uniforms, books or stationery, extra-curricular activities or other fees or levies. The number of scholarships, the amount awarded and any award will be at the discretion of the Principal.

Applicants and parents should note that the College will seek reimbursement of the value of tuition fees that were discounted under the scholarship if the student leaves the College before the expiration of the scholarship period.

For further information or to apply for a College scholarship, please contact the College office on 5337 5900.

Lower Primary Visual Arts

ROrr@balcc.vic.edu.au (Ruth Orr) — Thu, 21 Oct 2021 05:15:08 GMT

The Lower Primary students began the term with a new unit called ‘Everything is Awesome’. In Visual Arts the students have integrated artworks with the class program to produce LEGO figure self-portraits.

Students were asked “What do you think you would look like if you were a LEGO figure?” Students viewed various LEGO expressions and discussed how they could communicate their emotions in their self-portrait LEGO figure.

The class was encouraged to use their imagination and creativity in the portrayal of their self-portrait. Students came up with a range of creative ideas including disguises, hairstyles, props and interesting fashion choices. Laughter reigned supreme in this Visual Arts session as students expressed themselves as LEGO figures.

LOTE French - BalCC Core Values

ROrr@balcc.vic.edu.au (Ruth Orr) — Thu, 21 Oct 2021 05:07:27 GMT

Madame Weightman has been busy in the LOTE room putting up the French words for our BalCC Core Values.

As you can see, the French words are very similar to what we use in English for our BalCC Core Values, with the exception of ‘Commitment’.

Le Respect – Respect

La Compassion – Compassion

L’Honnêteté – Honesty

L’Engagement – Commitment

L’Unité – Unity

L’Excellence - Excellence

Year 4 Integrated Studies

ROrr@balcc.vic.edu.au (Ruth Orr) — Thu, 21 Oct 2021 04:58:42 GMT

The Year 4 students have been learning about materials in Integrated Studies. This week they made their own ‘characters’ from a variety of different materials. The students will also complete a written piece on their characters.

Year 9-10 Food Technology

ROrr@balcc.vic.edu.au (Ruth Orr) — Thu, 21 Oct 2021 04:48:01 GMT

The Year 9 and 10 Food Technology students were busy making a number of delicious dishes this week – curried meat and vegetable pie, flatbread, and zucchini barbecue burgers.

Staff Profile: Dale Darby

ROrr@balcc.vic.edu.au (Ruth Orr) — Thu, 21 Oct 2021 04:38:20 GMT

Dale Darby - Education Support

Dale has worked at the College in the Education Support team for fifteen years. During that time he has seen the College grow and evolve.

Dale is the proud father of four amazing children, and he loves to watch them thrive in the things they love to do. He loves sport, playing hockey and soccer at a state level when younger, and mentoring the Australian Futsal Team for their trip to Malaysia when his son played for Australia.

Dale has completed several areas of study but really enjoys Science and Mathematics, having a Bachelor of Applied Science with a double major in Geology. In his spare time he enjoys playing computer games and learning more about tiny homes and architecture.

To read more Staff Profiles head to the Our Team page of our website: https://www.balcc.vic.edu.au/about-us#our-team

Year 12 Last Day

ROrr@balcc.vic.edu.au (Ruth Orr) — Thu, 14 Oct 2021 23:27:01 GMT

Today was the last school day for our Year 12 students, some of whom have been with us since Prep. We wish them well in their upcoming exams and future endeavours.

“So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.” Isaiah 41:10 NIV

Prep: Maths Measurements

ROrr@balcc.vic.edu.au (Ruth Orr) — Thu, 14 Oct 2021 23:26:47 GMT

The Prep students took to the outdoors for one of their Maths lessons this week, marking out numbers to practice counting and measuring.

Staff Profile: Trevor Clough

ROrr@balcc.vic.edu.au (Ruth Orr) — Thu, 14 Oct 2021 23:19:55 GMT

Trevor Clough - ICT Manager

Trevor started at Ballarat Christian College in 2013 in an IT Support role and has since become the College’s ICT Manager. Trevor started his work life as an electrician which led into electronics and then to ICT. He worked for Victoria University for seventeen years before moving to Ballarat with his wife, Carol and their two boys, Liam & Samuel. Carol also works at the College as the Years 5-11 Visual Arts teacher and as the Arts & Technology Faculty Coordinator.

When Trevor is not at the College you will probably find him on his tractor attempting to look after the family property or chopping wood for the fire. He is an active member of Rise Christian Church Ballarat serving on the church’s oversight team and with the young adult’s group.

LOTE Primary – October Theme

ROrr@balcc.vic.edu.au (Ruth Orr) — Thu, 14 Oct 2021 23:13:01 GMT

Every month Madame Weightman is decorating a mannequin in the LOTE room with a French theme. For the month of October the theme is octobre Le Salon du Chocolat (Paris Chocolate Show)

This is an annual trade show for the chocolate industry. Chocolatiers (chocolate makers) and producers come from all over the world. They learn more about where chocolate comes from, and the processes involved in making great chocolate. They also make amazing displays, and even have a fashion show – all from chocolate!

Year 7 Visual Art

ROrr@balcc.vic.edu.au (Ruth Orr) — Thu, 14 Oct 2021 23:06:51 GMT

Our Year 7 students returned to face-to-face teaching this week, and during their first Visual Arts class they created some amazing artworks, using a variety of mediums.

Primary Chapel Term 4 - Friendship

ROrr@balcc.vic.edu.au (Ruth Orr) — Thu, 14 Oct 2021 22:56:18 GMT

Primary Chapel Term 4 - Friendship

Do you like to pretend and imagine? You'll enjoy this episode of Online Chapel if you do. Lookout for the creeping, crawling and growling ladybugs too. A 'hip hop, rap, tap tapping, flapping Missy Pickletoe introduces a very special and wonderfully narrated FRIENDSHIP segment and a man with no arms and legs will challenge you about your friendship motives. You won't be wanting KFC because our resident chickens will peck their way into your hearts and don't skip any parts or you'll miss God's message which is TRUE and REALLY IMPORTANT. ENJOY!

Disclaimer: Pre-Lockdown Footage is contained, and Miss O'Hara's neighbours showed restraint by not calling the police as they watched her film.

The link to the Primary Chapel video is available in this week's Connect email.

Melissa O'Hara

Junior School Chapel Coordinator

Year 12 Road Safety Presentation

ROrr@balcc.vic.edu.au (Ruth Orr) — Thu, 14 Oct 2021 22:40:21 GMT

During the week our Year 12 students heard a road safety presentation from Leading Senior Constable, Des Hudson from the Ballarat Police Proactive Unit. The presentation titled, ‘So Many Choices’ featured a video that looked at road safety from the perspective of a local Ballarat survivor who was involved in a life threatening crash when she was 18 years old and lives with her injuries every day for the rest of her life.

Leading Senior Constable, Des Hudson also spoke on the skills and strategies to avoid and reduce the risk of dangerous driving situations, road toll statistics, and the key driving risk factors – speed, fatigue, alcohol and drugs, and inattention. The students were able to ask questions and take part in discussions around road safety.

Year 7 Food Tech

ROrr@balcc.vic.edu.au (Ruth Orr) — Thu, 14 Oct 2021 04:28:14 GMT

On their first day of Term 4 our Year 7 students took to the kitchen for Food Technology. The students made salad roll-ups and fruit kebabs with yoghurt and coconut dip. As part of the lesson the students learnt to boil an egg and create delicious dips.

Prep Picnic at The Creek

ROrr@balcc.vic.edu.au (Ruth Orr) — Thu, 14 Oct 2021 04:12:04 GMT

Our Prep students made the most of the nice weather this week and headed over to the creek area for a picnic lunch. Over the past few months the creek area has been undergoing upgrade works, which has seen the construction of a new bridge, replacement fencing, garden beds and lawn area installed, and extra lighting added. This is now a great green space for the whole BalCC community to enjoy.

Core Value Pencils

ROrr@balcc.vic.edu.au (Ruth Orr) — Thu, 14 Oct 2021 04:07:13 GMT

A splash of colour was added around campus this week, with the installation of giant pencils painted with our BalCC Core Values. The two sets of pencils were the work of Zack from our Maintenance team, who saw the opportunity to upcycle some unused posts into giant pencils to display our values. Thank you to Zack and a BalCC grandparent who kindly painted the wording on to the pencils.

Operation Christmas Child

ROrr@balcc.vic.edu.au (Ruth Orr) — Fri, 08 Oct 2021 00:29:51 GMT

Operation Christmas Child is a hands-on way for you to bless children in need across the world by filling shoeboxes with toys, hygiene items, school supplies, and fun gifts. Boxes are collected and distributed in the name of Jesus Christ to children living in vulnerable situations. In previous years, Ballarat Christian College put together almost 150 shoe boxes, which is a remarkable effort.

This year the College will be participating in Operation Christmas Child differently. We are asking for donations to cover the cost of a box and the College will buy the contents of the boxes and staff will donate time to make up the boxes for distribution. The cost to make up a box is $20 which includes the compulsory $10 postage amount.

Please refer to the email sent out to Parents/Carers on Monday 4 October with the details on how contribute to this fundraising initiative. We have a cut off time with Operation Christmas Child being Monday 18 October, so we would appreciate your quick response. There will also be an additional opportunity to make an extra donation should you wish to do so. The College aims to complete 200 boxes this year which is approximately one box per family.

Operation Christmas Child, is an initiative of Samartian’s Purse an International relief organisation who are involved in distributing boxes of Christmas gifts and the Gospel message to underprivileged children overseas. More information can also be found at Operation Christmas Child | Samaritan's Purse Australia | New Zealand (samaritanspurse.org.au) Thank you for considering being a part of Operation Christmas Child.

New Core Value Signage

ROrr@balcc.vic.edu.au (Ruth Orr) — Fri, 08 Oct 2021 00:28:29 GMT

We have just finished the installation of our new full colour BalCC Core Value signage in our Lower and Upper Secondary and Primary areas. The colourful signage is a great addition to our campus and wonderful way to share our values of – Respect, Compassion, Honesty, Commitment, Unity and Excellence.

Staff Profile: Martin Burness

ROrr@balcc.vic.edu.au (Ruth Orr) — Fri, 08 Oct 2021 00:17:34 GMT

Martin has been a teacher for most of his working life of over forty-five years. He has always taught design-based materials subjects in both State and Christian Schools/Colleges. He is very passionate about the design process and student understanding of incorporating the properties of materials in the design process. He has also taught lead lighting at Kangan Institute and worked as an Operating Theatre Technician at John Fawkner Hospital in the mid 90’s. His hobbies are fishing, mountain biking and landscaping. He attends Equip Church International with his wife, Miranda.

To read more Staff Profiles head to the Our Team page of our website: https://www.balcc.vic.edu.au/about-us#our-team

Message from the Board Chairman

ROrr@balcc.vic.edu.au (Ruth Orr) — Fri, 08 Oct 2021 00:14:50 GMT

As Board Chairman, I am privileged to have the opportunity to share a little about the College from the position of the Board. Through these challenging times as we manage our day-to-day lives, while dealing with the continuing lockdowns, I am proud to say that (despite multiple disruptions) we have continued to focus on delivering the highest level of schooling to all Ballarat Christian College students.

This year, we have been blessed with new innovative teaching and administration staff. This in turn has provided the opportunity to develop new programs, improve College processes and extend grounds works. This has embodied significant work on developing the creek area into a more useable and attractive area of the College. We have provided more grassed areas, a new bridge, added a chicken coop and chickens, plus redeveloped the vegetable gardens into a more productive resource. In an age where individuals are increasingly more disconnected from the production process, this allows students to have hands on experience which will enrich their learning and provide skills towards a brighter future.

While building the Neville Hawkins Wing in 2019 required we remove the old flagpole in that area, we were able to replace this with three flagpoles at the front of the College; this has given us the opportunity to fly the Australian, Aboriginal, and College flags together.

It is valuable for all those connected to the College to have an understanding into how the College Board functions. This enhances the College’s transparency. Board meetings are held monthly from February to November. Pre-COVID-19, these meetings were held at the College, but in line with restrictions and current trends, we have been meeting more recently via video conferencing. The Board currently has seven members but is working towards increasing this number to the permitted nine members. Parents are a crucial part of Board membership, and we currently have three Board members who are parents of students attending the College.

We have a very strong and diverse group of Board members covering a broad range of skills and knowledge. The current Board members are myself as Board Chairman, Randall Dreger-Deputy Chairman, Lorraine Firth, Chris Duke, Jodie Rickard, Amy Lewis, and Pastor Tim Clark.

The College Principal and Business Manager are ex-officio members of the Board, they do not have voting rights but attend meetings, provide updates and input to Board decision making.

Board meetings focus on strategic issues, leaving the operational running of the College to the Principal and his highly skilled team. Board meetings cover agenda items such as the ‘Principal’s monthly report’, incoming and outgoing correspondence, ‘Finance and Risk Management Committee report’, ‘Child Safety report’, and updates on progress occurring in line with the Strategic Plan.

There are three committees of the Board.

• The Executive Committee (comprised of Board Chairman, Deputy Chairman, Principal, Business Manager) meets quarterly to discuss high level College direction.

• The Property Committee meets quarterly and is focused on the Property Master Plan, new building works and property improvements.

• The Finance and Risk Management Committee meets monthly (the week prior to the Board meetings) and reviews budget performance and finance-related issues, as well as risk management.

The 2020 Strategic Plan was developed in 2019 and it covers the period between 2020 – 2022. The Strategic Plan, although owned by the Board, is developed jointly between the College Executive Team and the Board. The current Strategic Plan has been focused on development of the Property Master Plan, development of the new Year 9 program and the introduction of composite classes in the Primary school.

A key component of this Strategic Plan is the building of a VCE/Resource Centre designed to replace the old VCE buildings and to be a new home for our Library. It is planned that this will incorporate study spaces for senior secondary students, open areas, a multi-purpose classroom, as well as the new Library. While this building will not be built in the period of the current Strategic Plan, we hope to complete the planning and funding components of the project within that timeframe.

I would like to thank all our parents and students for their hard work, resilience, and support in what can be described as unprecedented times. To the College staff who continue to work tirelessly and show exceptional flexibility through difficult circumstances, I thank them on behalf of the Board.

Ross Coventry - Board Chairman

Connect@BalCC Edition 3

ROrr@balcc.vic.edu.au (Ruth Orr) — Thu, 07 Oct 2021 23:42:03 GMT

Edition 3 of Connect@BalCC is now available for you. Connect@BalCC, is a digital flip book publication with news, photos and videos from Ballarat Christian College.

Connect@BalCC is filled with stories about the happenings in our Primary and Secondary, as well as Alumni and general information: https://issuu.com/ballaratcc/docs/balcc_connect_ter

LPA-LPB "Everything is Awesome"

ROrr@balcc.vic.edu.au (Ruth Orr) — Thu, 07 Oct 2021 23:37:09 GMT

The Lower Primary theme for Term 4 is “Everything is awesome”, inspired by “The LEGO Movie”. Students will have the opportunity to have many hands on experiences with LEGO building including using this for STEM activities such as town planning, creating cars powered by balloons to investigate how a push or pull affects how an object moves, engineering bridges to hold a set amount. S tudents will use LEGO scenes they create as a springboard for writing. They will create stop motion movies using LEGO to make their stories come to life. LEGO will also be incorporated into Maths with perimeter, area, measurement, arrays, volume, probability, skip counting, map reading (town planning/birds eye view), division to name a few.

Principal's Message: Term 3, 2021

ROrr@balcc.vic.edu.au (Ruth Orr) — Fri, 17 Sep 2021 02:03:24 GMT

Each year, Term 3 is the season where schools commence planning in earnest for the following school year. Ballarat Christian College is no exception to this general rule, and despite the constraints that we have worked through during Term 3, we have successfully concluded the 2022 subject selection process, with Years 8 – 11 students selecting their 2022 options in Web Preferences. This information is matched against our staffing availability as a first step in the process of building the 2022 timetable.

Although there is some way to go in this process – and many elements are still very much in draft mode – I am pleased to note the following expansion in our Secondary school:

The addition of two Homeroom groups, with the move to dual-streaming from Year 7 through to Year 10
Further options being added at VCE level, including Unit 1/2 level Applied Computer Science, Legal Studies and English Literature and the return of History (Revolutions) at Unit 3/4 level

2022 will mark the final year of the Victorian Certificate of Applied Learning (VCAL) across all Victorian schools. As a result, Year 10 students were not offered a VCAL option in English or Mathematics in 2022 as it was not clear that they would be able to complete this pathway in the following years. Year 11 (2022) students will be able to complete their vocational pathway as measures have been put in place to allow those students to transition to the new vocational stream within the Victorian Certificate of Education in 2023.

Next year will also see the completion of the restructuring of our Primary classes. The dual Lower Primary model has worked very well this year and our Years 3 – 6 classroom teachers have been busy planning for the dual Middle and Upper Primary classes from 2022. We will continue to have a stand-alone Prep (Foundation) class, in line with the best-practice model currently employed in many Victorian schools. From 2022, our Primary school structure will be: Prep (Foundation), Lower Primary (Years 1 and 2), Middle Primary (Years 3 and 4) and Upper Primary (Years 5 and 6).

At our current size, we will have one Prep Homeroom and two Homeroom groups each in Lower, Middle and Upper Primary. This structure will enable more uniform class sizes across Primary, whilst allowing the addition of more Homeroom groups when enrolment growth permits. The camping program will be revised to fit the new structure, but I will leave the Head of Primary to provide more details on this in due course. The composite arrangement in Upper Primary will provide opportunity for our Year 5 students to benefit from the inclusion of Food and Design Technology into their curriculum, following the introduction of these subjects to our Year 6 students this year.

I trust that you and your family will enjoy some time for rest and recreation before we begin the final term for the year. May you know God’s peace and blessing upon you, knowing that He goes before us and is with us in whatever circumstances we might face.

Blessings, Ken Nuridin - Principal

Alumni News: Class of 2015

ROrr@balcc.vic.edu.au (Ruth Orr) — Fri, 17 Sep 2021 02:03:22 GMT

** CLASS OF 2015 – Ella Bedggood **

Ella Bedggood always dreamed of becoming a dance teacher and after years of training, study, and hard work she is living that dream. During her time at BalCC Ella completed a VCE/VET dance course and achieved a Certificate II in Dance in Year 11 and in Year 12 completed a major examination through Cecchetti Ballet Australia, which then qualified her to teach the syllabus. The following year she completed an exam through the Australian Teachers of Dancing (ATOD) which then qualified her to teach their Jazz dance syllabus.

Ella has worked at six different dance and performing arts schools across Victoria and in 2018 helped found Shining Stars dance classes for preschoolers, which ran for two years through Mount Clear Church of Christ, until they were unfortunately closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2020 she was the co-director and choreographer for Ballarat Centre of Music and the Arts’ production of ‘Seussical the Musical Jr.’

Today Ella works at three performing arts schools across regional Victoria as both a dance and singing instructor to students of all ages. She has also held administration and social media management positions in multiple schools, created successful preschool programs for both in-studio and online learning and has assisted in the management of a performing arts school in Ballan for nearly five years. She is part of the core junior musical theatre team at Ballarat Centre of Music and the Arts (BCMA) and is currently the co-director and choreographer of their production of ‘Aladdin Jr.’ featuring over seventy children, including some of BalCC’s current students. For the past four years Ella has been Head of the BCMA preschool department and is currently teaching twenty of their solo singing students, some of whom have recently competed in competitions around Victoria (including Royal South Street). Despite her busy schedule Ella is currently studying musical theatre singing through the Australian Music Examinations Board (AMEB).

Ella’s performing career has seen her featuring on stages both locally and internationally. In 2018 she was selected as a performer and choreographer for Dynamic Dance Ararat’s USA tour, which saw her performing at Disneyland, Universal Studios and on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. She appeared as a lead role in ‘CATS’ the musical (Ballarat Lyric Theatre 2017), understudied the role of ‘Belle’ in ‘Beauty and the Beast’ (BLOC Music Theatre 2019) and was featured in the highly successful sell-out season of ‘Mamma Mia!’ (BLOC Music Theatre 2021), as well as ‘Jesus Christ Superstar’ (Ballarat Lyric Theatre 2018) and ‘Jekyll & Hyde the Musical’ (Ballarat Lyric Theatre 2019).

While at BalCC Ella was involved in leading worship at Junior, Middle and Senior School Chapels, and helped choreograph dance routines for Year 7 and 8 Performing Arts students, while she was a student and in later years when she was asked to return to teach some class groups. Ella performed in singing for BalCC at Royal South Street, winning various competitions. She was also a lead character/choreographer in the College’s productions of ‘Taking it Through the Day’ (2011) and a supporting character/choreographer of ‘Esther’ (2014). During Year 12 Ella auditioned for and was cast in an RACV advertisement television campaign and was featured in their print media until 2019. In 2018 she was cast as an extra in the Stan Original film True History of the Kelly Gang.

Of her time at BalCC Ella says “I truly feel that I would not be where I am in life without my time at BalCC. My teachers saw my passion for the arts and helped nurture it where they could, giving me opportunities and encouragement that would not have been possible at any other school. The community truly felt like a family; I really felt like I mattered and was heard, something I had not felt at my first high school. Friends and connections made from my time at the school have genuinely carried on to this day. I am forever grateful for my experience and wouldn’t change it for the world.”

Congratulations to Ella on dreaming big and working hard to accomplish her goals, and we look forward to seeing more of her performing achievements in the years to come.

To read more Alumni stories head to to our Facebook page: Ballarat Christian College Alumni

Our Team

ROrr@balcc.vic.edu.au (Ruth Orr) — Fri, 17 Sep 2021 02:00:00 GMT

During Term 3 we launched an Our Team page on the BalCC website. The page features profiles on all our staff, along with a photo. To read more staff profiles head to the Our Team page of our website: https://www.balcc.vic.edu.au/about-us#our-team

Primary Chapel Term 3 - Friendship

ROrr@balcc.vic.edu.au (Ruth Orr) — Fri, 10 Sep 2021 00:42:45 GMT

We all want one. Many people have more than one. Life is boring without one. And God is the BEST ONE! Can you guess our ONLINE CHAPEL'S focus? Think about it. Yes, it's Friendship! The students will again shine in our Chapel as they respond to this very important topic. Featuring Pre-Lockdown Footage and a few fun dance tracks to bring out the groove in all of us.

The link to the Primary Chapel video is available in this week's Connect email.

Melissa O'Hara

Junior School Chapel Coordinator

Staff Profile: Mark Preston

ROrr@balcc.vic.edu.au (Ruth Orr) — Fri, 10 Sep 2021 00:42:43 GMT

To read more Staff Profiles head to the Our Team page of our website: https://www.balcc.vic.edu.au/about-us#our-team

Lower Primary: Healthy Foods

ROrr@balcc.vic.edu.au (Ruth Orr) — Fri, 10 Sep 2021 00:41:14 GMT

As part of their Health class last week the Lower Primary students looked at healthy foods. Students had to create a picture using their healthy snack. Here are some of the delicious results.

Staff Profile: Amy Parry

ROrr@balcc.vic.edu.au (Ruth Orr) — Fri, 10 Sep 2021 00:36:35 GMT

Amy Parry is one of the College Administration Staff and started her employment at the College as a trainee in June of 2020. After having completed her Certificate III in Business, she is now a permanent staff member and works as a Receptionist, assists in the first aid and in the Finance Department. Amy is a member of Enjoy Church and volunteers as a leader in their young adult’s group, called Era.

To read more Staff Profiles head to the Our Team page of our website: https://www.balcc.vic.edu.au/about-us#our-team

Staff Profile: Sylvia Loader

ROrr@balcc.vic.edu.au (Ruth Orr) — Fri, 10 Sep 2021 00:32:46 GMT

A love of Psychology at secondary school led Sylvia to choosing it as her major when she commenced undergraduate studies at La Trobe University, along with minor studies in Politics and History. She completed her teaching studies at the Australian Catholic University graduating a week before getting married. She commenced teaching in 2001 and has taught at Derrinallum College, Phoenix College, Woodmans Hill Secondary College and Mt Rowan Secondary College campuses, when they still known as Ballarat Secondary College.

In 2006 Sylvia started at BalCC teaching VCE Psychology and Biology and has since gone on to teach VCE Health and Human Development, Year 10 HASS, Year 9/10 Psychology/Sociology elective and VCE Sociology. She has worked as the VCE Coordinator for nine years and the VET Coordinator for the last few years. Sylvia recently received a Master of Applied Leadership in Positive Education from the University of New England.

To read more Staff Profiles head to the Our Team page of our website: https://www.balcc.vic.edu.au/about-us#our-team

Welcome to Spring - Year 7-9 Visual Arts

ROrr@balcc.vic.edu.au (Ruth Orr) — Fri, 03 Sep 2021 00:58:41 GMT

Welcome to Spring! Today we are sharing some artwork by the Year 7-9 Visual Arts students and our Arts & Technology Faculty Coordinator, Carol Clough based around the themes of Spring and colour.

Happy Father's Day

ROrr@balcc.vic.edu.au (Ruth Orr) — Fri, 03 Sep 2021 00:55:53 GMT

Happy Father's Day to all the Dads. We hope your day is a special one.

"Praise the Lord. Blessed are those who fear the Lord, who find great delight in his commands. Their children will be mighty in the land; the generation of the upright will be blessed. " Psalm 112:1-2 NIV

During the week Primary students could call past and select a gift from our Father's Day stall. Thank you to Mrs Duthie for ordering and preparing the gifts for the stall.

Alumni News: Class of 2017

ROrr@balcc.vic.edu.au (Ruth Orr) — Thu, 02 Sep 2021 23:36:05 GMT

ALUMNI NEWS: Hayden Rees attended BalCC for all of his secondary schooling and graduated in the Class of 2017, with career aims of working as an actor and pursuing his interests in photography. Today Hayden is working as a Drama teacher at Curtain Call Performing Arts Studios and is studying a Bachelor of Performing Arts (Acting and Music Theatre) at the Ballarat Arts Academy at Federation University. Here Hayden shares some of his experiences since graduation.

“Ever since I left Ballarat Christian College, I was worried about what I was going to do afterwards. But I learned that I should always put God first, and that He always has a plan. In 2018, I worked as a drama teacher at Curtain Call Performing Arts Studios (I have been performing with Curtain Call for fifteen years) and I performed in the musical, ‘Grease’ with the studio. I did an internship at Hilltop Church, and I completed a Certificate III in Photography at Oxygen College.

In 2019, I continued my work at Curtain Call. I performed in the musicals, ‘Chicago’, and ‘Mary Poppins’ as ‘Mr Banks’. I completed a Certificate II in Dance and Theatre Studies at Aus Dance. I performed in community events and dance competitions including the Wakakirri Dance Festival and Ballarat Carols by Candlelight. I appeared as an extra in a football movie, where I got to act alongside actor, Brett Climo (best known for his work in ‘A Place to Call Home’). I took singing lessons in Melbourne with actor, Thomas McGuane. I auditioned to study at the Ballarat Arts Academy at Federation University and after a two week process where I had to perform Shakespeare, sing, and dance I was accepted into the course.

In 2020, I appeared as an extra in the movie, ‘Road to Boston’, which was filmed locally in Ballarat. I began my journey studying a Bachelor of Performing Arts (Acting and Music Theatre) at the Ballarat Arts Academy. In the course I learnt new skills in acting, singing, and dancing. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic I was only on campus for three weeks. We had to transfer the whole first year course to online. It was great that we could continue, however it did have its challenges. I believe, though that the pandemic has made us stronger as a group. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the arts and entertainment industry have been going through a tough time. Over 10,000 people who work in the industry have lost their jobs and shows all over Australia have been postponed or cancelled. To help struggling artists I created and started an online show called ‘Let’s Go on With the Show’, with the aim to raise awareness of the arts and entertainment industry. Some of the guests I got to interview included students from Curtain Call, BalCC Alumni Ella Bedggood and Genevieve Withers, performers - Patricia Ward Kelly, Tarik Frimpong, Samantha Dodemaide, Stephen Mahy, and Michael Whalley.

In 2021, we got to go back to campus, and it was great to see people in person, and learn new techniques which included accents, mock auditions, and film and television acting. In June, I finally got to perform in live show; it has been a year since I last performed on the stage. The play was called, ‘Metamorphoses’. We would rehearse the play four days a week and we only had four weeks of rehearsals. In the play, I played a narrator, a villainous creature named ‘Hunger’, and an old man named, ‘Philemon’. It was a great learning and acting challenge. It was exciting that we were able to perform to an audience. We are hoping to perform in another show at the end of the year.

The main advice that I would give to people who are currently studying whether it is high school, or university is to make sure you take time for yourself. Do things that make you happy. It can be drawing, cooking, watching a movie, listening to music, or reading. It is important to look after yourself, particularly during this pandemic. I also recommend praying and going for a walk to get some fresh air. It can really clear your mind. Other advice I can give is talk to friends, family, and teachers. Always remember that there are people who love and support you. Always be grateful, and take care of yourself, and the people around you.

““For I know the plans I have for you”, declares the Lord, “Plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”” Jeremiah 29:11

“Be strong and courageous. Do not afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.” Joshua 1:9

“Laughter is timeless, imagination has no age, and dreams are forever.” – Walt Disney

If you would like to read more Alumni stories head to Facebook and find our page titled – Ballarat Christian College Alumni .

We would love to share our Alumni Facebook page with more BalCC Alumni and families, so please remember to Like , Share and Follow our page.

Staff Profile: Sylvia Loader

ROrr@balcc.vic.edu.au (Ruth Orr) — Thu, 02 Sep 2021 23:33:22 GMT

Tree Giveaway Win

ROrr@balcc.vic.edu.au (Ruth Orr) — Thu, 02 Sep 2021 23:30:59 GMT

Thank you to Avalon Nursery for gifting BalCC ten trees, as part of their giveaway competition to Primary schools in the Ballarat and Warrnambool districts. We received eight fruit trees and two ornamental trees, which will be planted around campus. Avalon Nursery gave away 100 trees to Primary schools to encourage our younger generation to become involved in gardening.

Blessing Our Staff

ROrr@balcc.vic.edu.au (Ruth Orr) — Thu, 02 Sep 2021 23:27:17 GMT

UNITY in our COMMUNITY: This week we brightened the day of our staff by delivering gift bags. The contactless deliveries saw each staff member receive a small token of appreciation for the amazing work each and every one of them have been doing. Please continue to encourage and pray for our staff and the role each of them plays in our BalCC community.

“For just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, so in Christ we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others.” Romans 12:4-5 NIV

Alumni News: Class of 2014

ROrr@balcc.vic.edu.au (Ruth Orr) — Thu, 02 Sep 2021 23:21:13 GMT

ALUMNI NEWS: This week we are hearing from Courtney Graham (nee Shardlow) has been doing since graduating from the Class of 2014 :

“This is where life has taken me.... I hope you enjoy the snapshot of my life since my school days.

A few weeks after graduating I ended up having spinal surgery to fix the curvature of my spine that I suffered with the whole of my schooling life. After four months of recovering, I went back to work but didn’t feel fulfilled.

I decided I wanted to travel abroad, with my first stop being England. I flew out to England in October 2015 with my Nanna and lived with her whilst I sorted out my next steps. I soon got a job at Subway and worked my way up to Assistant Manager. Two months into my life abroad, I met my future husband. We courted for nine months, and then travelled back to Australia so that he could meet my family.

We stayed in Australia for 11 months, worked when it was possible and eventually, on June 10, 2017, we became engaged. Shortly after, in August 2017, we flew back to England. We planned our wedding and worked. I went back to my job as Assistant Manager at Subway, but soon realised that I wanted to pursue my lifelong career dream of becoming a nurse. I applied for a job as Healthcare Assistant at a local care home, supporting elderly people who suffer from Alzheimer’s, Dementia, Parkinson’s disease, and other various health and mobility issues.

On November 10, 2018, my fiancé and I got married in Bransgore, United Kingdom, with both of our families present. We had an amazing and unforgettable day. We honeymooned in Edinburgh and settled down in Christchurch, Dorset, United Kingdom.

2019 was a year of discomfort for us both. My husband suffered with some unexplained medical issues, and as we adjusted to married life together, it tested the two of us. With God’s grace we were able to sing in the new year of 2020, and thanked God for teaching us patience in a year that was very complex.

2020 was a year of adapting. With the announcement of the COVID-19 pandemic, I became an essential worker. I became full-time at my job, and an opportunity to learn and expand my career was provided.

2021 began with a rocky start when I tested positive to COVID-19 at the start of January. Thankfully I wasn’t badly affected by the virus and after isolating for ten days, was able to return to work. I must admit that wearing hazmat suits whilst at work felt like something out of a horror film!! April 2021, I was very unwell. I developed a secondary infection in my lung, of pneumonia and pleurisy. Following that I had an exacerbation of my asthma. Thankfully, my doctors and the hospital staff were able to help me get back to full health and I have since returned to work and am doing much better.

Life has moved by so quickly and I find it incredibly scary how seven years has just gone by. It’s crazy to think I’m now mid-twenties!! I am still working towards my career goal of being a nurse, and every day I wake up grateful that I have an amazing job. I am very grateful for the schooling background that I received; as the College values have really helped define who I am.”

God bless, Courtney.

If you would like to read more Alumni stories head to Facebook and find our page titled – Ballarat Christian College Alumni .

We would love to share our Alumni Facebook page with more BalCC Alumni and families, so please remember to Like , Share and Follow our page.

Senate Activity Day

ROrr@balcc.vic.edu.au (Ruth Orr) — Fri, 27 Aug 2021 02:24:58 GMT

Last Friday the Secondary teachers, Student Wellbeing and Senate hosted a casual dress day for Secondary students, along with a range of activities that raised awareness of the importance of mental health. We understand that these times are difficult and more than ever we need to connect with each other and help out. Each of the Secondary classes participated in a game, devotion, discussion, and a Kahoot that all centred around lifting spirits and mental health. Well done to our Senate who were instrumental in planning and organising activities for the day.

Science Week 2021

ROrr@balcc.vic.edu.au (Ruth Orr) — Fri, 27 Aug 2021 01:56:48 GMT

To celebrate National Science Week our BalCC Science department ran lunchtime activities for students last week. National Science Week is Australia’s annual celebration of science and technology. The school theme for National Science Week 2021 was Food: Different by Design. The theme honoured the United Nations International Year of Fruits and Vegetables and the International Year of Creative Economy for Sustainable Development.

Year 10 Chemical Science: Energy

ROrr@balcc.vic.edu.au (Ruth Orr) — Fri, 27 Aug 2021 01:33:22 GMT

Last week our Year 9/10 Chemical Science students were investigating the amount of energy produced by a variety of foods, including chips, biscuits, Twisties, and chocolates.

Book Week 2021

ROrr@balcc.vic.edu.au (Ruth Orr) — Fri, 27 Aug 2021 01:31:46 GMT

Students and staff took part in The Children’s Book Council of Australia Book Week as part of their remote learning this week. Students dressed up for the Book Week theme of ‘Old Worlds, New Worlds, Other Worlds’. Throughout the week students took part in various activities to enhance their enjoyment of literature.

Year 8 Science: Chemical Reactions

ROrr@balcc.vic.edu.au (Ruth Orr) — Fri, 27 Aug 2021 01:29:34 GMT

Last week our Year 8 Science students were doing an experiment on chemical reactions. They were observing the decomposition of a greenish-blue copper carbonate into a black solid of copper oxide as well as some carbon dioxide gas given off.

Facebook Launch: BalCC Alumni

ROrr@balcc.vic.edu.au (Ruth Orr) — Thu, 19 Aug 2021 14:09:07 GMT

We are excited to launch our Ballarat Christian College Alumni Facebook page. At Ballarat Christian College we are keen to be involved with our students beyond graduation and recognise that being part on an alumni community can be a rewarding and fulfilling experience. Through our alumni community you can:

· Stay connected to the people with whom you studied and socialised.

· Contribute write ups and photos telling us about what you’ve been involved with since graduating from BalCC.

· Keep up to date on the happenings and developments at BalCC.

· Enquire about volunteering and work experience placements at BalCC.

· Advise, help and inspire current students by providing career or study advice at BalCC Career and Study Skills days.

To join our alumni community and get involved, please connect with us via email with your preferred contact details to alumni@balcc.vic.edu.au

Please remember to Like , Follow and Share our Ballarat Christian College Alumni Facebook page.

Year 5 Excursion: Sovereign Hill Costumed School

ROrr@balcc.vic.edu.au (Ruth Orr) — Thu, 19 Aug 2021 14:08:17 GMT

Our Year 5 students have spent the past two days attending the Sovereign Hill Costumed School experiencing life and schooling in a Goldfields school of the 1850’s. The costumed school experience is tailored to Year 5 and 6 students. As part of this program students were given the rare opportunity to go behind the scenes in many of the Sovereign Hill businesses and experience first-hand life on the diggings. The two day excursion is an important part of our school curriculum, particularly in the light of the Year 5 history focus on ‘Early Colonisation and the Goldfields’.

Year 10 Structured Workplace Learning

ROrr@balcc.vic.edu.au (Ruth Orr) — Thu, 19 Aug 2021 13:54:36 GMT

Our Year 10 students recently took part in structured workplace learning (SWL). SWL is different to and much more than a work experience program, as it complements the training undertaken at school and provides the context for:

· enhanced skill development

· practical application of industry knowledge

· increased employment opportunities

The Year 10 students obtained SWL placements in the following industries - IT, hospitality, health, farming, automotive, beauty, fitness, law and electrical.

LOTE Primary - Corso de la lavende

ROrr@balcc.vic.edu.au (Ruth Orr) — Thu, 19 Aug 2021 13:28:48 GMT

Every month Madame Weightman is decorating a mannequin in the LOTE room with a French theme. For the month of August it is août – Corso de la lavende. This is a festival that takes place over five days, which includes a parade of floral floats. The flowering period for lavender starts in mid-June and lasts until the end of August. It is grown in southern France (Provence region) and is commonly used in soaps, oil, perfumes and home decoration. Since ancient times, lavender has been used to help treat illnesses. Once so valuable it was called ‘blue gold’.

Year 7A Food Tech: Baking Scones

ROrr@balcc.vic.edu.au (Ruth Orr) — Thu, 19 Aug 2021 13:18:47 GMT

With a scoop of flour, a dash of butter, a cup of milk and our Year 7A Food Technology students had mixed up their first batch of scones. Taking to the kitchen for their first hands on lesson the students tried their hand at baking and took home a warm batch of scones for their efforts.

Lower Primary B: Looking At Fruit & Veg

ROrr@balcc.vic.edu.au (Ruth Orr) — Thu, 19 Aug 2021 11:35:03 GMT

The Lower Primary B students have been looking at different fruits and vegetables as part of their Paddock to Plate studies. The students sorted, classified and even got to taste some of the different foods. They then recorded their reactions and descriptions for what they had tried. Thank you to Wilson’s Fruit and Vegetables for donating the vegetables.

Prep: Science Week Activity

ROrr@balcc.vic.edu.au (Ruth Orr) — Thu, 19 Aug 2021 11:29:24 GMT

To celebrate National Science Week our BalCC Science department are running lunchtime activities all this week. National Science Week is Australia’s annual celebration of science and technology. The school theme for National Science Week 2021 is Food: Different by Design. The theme honours the United Nations International Year of Fruits and Vegetables and the International Year of Creative Economy for Sustainable Development. Our Science Faculty Co-ordinator, Leanne Coventry ran an experiment with the Prep students to see what peeled and unpeeled fruits would or would not float.

Secondary Mentoring Program

ROrr@balcc.vic.edu.au (Ruth Orr) — Fri, 13 Aug 2021 04:32:40 GMT

Every Friday the Year 11 Certificate III in Christian Education students run a mentoring program with the Year 7 students during homeroom. This week the students headed outdoors to play some games and do some team building. The mentoring program is part of the first unit of the Certificate III in Christian Education and is done in Year 11 as part of the overall Deacon’s tasks throughout the year. The Year 12 Certificate III in Christian Education students have been mentoring the Year 8 students each week at homeroom.

LPA-LPB: Paddock to Plate

ROrr@balcc.vic.edu.au (Ruth Orr) — Fri, 13 Aug 2021 03:37:22 GMT

During Term 3 the Lower Primary classes are studying Paddock to Plate. They are focusing on animals and plant crops grown on a farm and what we can get from them. The students have been looking at how our food gets from the paddock to our plate. They will be looking at dairy products, eggs, rice, wheat, sugar, cotton and wool. Today they were lucky to have a fellow classmate’s two lambs, Duke and Max come to school for a pat, hold and bottle feed.

Principal's Thank You Morning Tea

ROrr@balcc.vic.edu.au (Ruth Orr) — Fri, 13 Aug 2021 02:42:11 GMT

On Wednesday we held a morning tea for staff to celebrate Principal’s Day. Our Business Manager, Simon Edwards thanked Principal, Ken Nuridin, along with our Head of Secondary–Scott McKenzie, Head of Primary–Bianca Francica, Acting Head of Primary–Emily Westblade and our Director of Teaching & Learning–Julie Gall for their contributions to the College, especially during the challenging times presented by COVID. Thank you to Wild Honey Grazing Co’, a local business owned and run by Class of 2016 graduate, Millie Williams-Kane for catering the morning tea.

Year 8 Food Tech: Pancakes

ROrr@balcc.vic.edu.au (Ruth Orr) — Fri, 13 Aug 2021 02:23:32 GMT

This week the Year 8 Food Technology students were making pancakes and getting creative with food colours. Next week the students commence work on a food design brief, which will see them make up and idea for a recipe, prepare a grocery list and manage their time as they create their dishes.

Principal's Day - Aug 6

ROrr@balcc.vic.edu.au (Ruth Orr) — Fri, 06 Aug 2021 02:55:52 GMT

Today in Victoria it is Principal’s Day, an initiative of the Victorian Principal’s Association to celebrate the pivotal role of principals in achieving excellence in teaching and learning in schools. Each year, Victorian schools celebrate the remarkable and tireless contribution principals and assistant principals make to schools. Today we acknowledge our Principal, Ken Nuridin, along with our Head of Secondary–Scott McKenzie, Head of Primary–Bianca Francica, Acting Head of Primary–Emily Westblade and our Director of Teaching & Learning–Julie Gall. As we head back into another period of remote learning we are especially reminded of the many contributions this team provides to our students, families and staff. We thank them for their amazing leadership and wish them a wonderful Principal’s Day.

Year 4: Veggie Olympics

ROrr@balcc.vic.edu.au (Ruth Orr) — Fri, 06 Aug 2021 02:55:43 GMT

The Year 4 students have held their own ‘Veggie Olympics’. The students created their own athletes and then gave an oral presentation about their athlete’s sport and background, before going on to do a written piece about their athlete.

Year 8 Digital Technology: BTS Automation Excursion

ROrr@balcc.vic.edu.au (Ruth Orr) — Fri, 06 Aug 2021 02:55:07 GMT

The Year 8 students Digital Technology students visited Ballarat Tech School (BTS) this week for an automation excursion.

Automation is the creation and application of technology to monitor and control the production and delivery of products and services. Automation changes how we do business and the type of manufacturing jobs available.

Over the day students gained experience and understanding in robotic applications, investigating, Applied Math (coordinates) and different end effectors and applications. The students also used mini-industrial robots and took part in basic electronics and programming.

BalCC students have the opportunity to participate in the innovative education programs offered at BTS, hosted by Federation University Australia (FedUni) at their SMB campus. BTS programs are focused on supporting students to gain science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM) skills and capabilities.

To learn more about the Ballarat Tech School (Discover Today, Design Tomorrow) programs head to: https://ballarattechschool.vic.edu.au/

Year 7-8 Visual Arts: Colours & Japan

ROrr@balcc.vic.edu.au (Ruth Orr) — Fri, 06 Aug 2021 01:26:54 GMT

This week the Year 7-8 Visual Arts students were working with colours in their visual diaries and completing Japanese or Olympic inspired art works in a variety of art mediums.

Year 3 Performing Arts: Glockenspiel

ROrr@balcc.vic.edu.au (Ruth Orr) — Fri, 06 Aug 2021 01:18:35 GMT

For the past two weeks the Year 3 Performing Arts students have been learning about melody and playing melodies on glockenspiels and other mallet percussion instruments.

Year 11 General Maths: Bungee Bob

ROrr@balcc.vic.edu.au (Ruth Orr) — Fri, 06 Aug 2021 01:12:32 GMT

This week the Year 11 General Maths students carried out an investigation where they measured how far ‘Bungee Bob’ fell with varying numbers of rubber bands attached and then graphed out the results.

Staff Profile: Kirsty Johnson

ROrr@balcc.vic.edu.au (Ruth Orr) — Fri, 06 Aug 2021 00:46:10 GMT

STAFF PROFILE: Kirsty Johnson completed her Bachelor of Primary Education at the University of Melbourne in 2003. She started her career teaching Year 1 at Waverley Christian College for two years before getting married and moving to Ballarat, where she worked at Ballarat and Clarendon College teaching Year 1 and 2. She missed teaching in a Christian school environment and came to us in 2008 where she was the Year 1-2 classroom teacher. Since then she has been a classroom teacher and a casual relief teacher while raising her family. Kirsty returned to full-time teaching at BalCC in 2019 and is currently teaching the Lower Primary B class. Both Kirsty’s girls attend BalCC and her son will join us in Prep next year.

Preps Celebrate 100 Days

ROrr@balcc.vic.edu.au (Ruth Orr) — Fri, 06 Aug 2021 00:39:14 GMT

On Wednesday our Prep students celebrated 100 days of learning. To mark the event our Preps had the option to wear casual clothes or a 100 theme dress-up. The Preps did literacy and numeracy activities based on the '100' theme in the morning and made 100 days smarter crowns.

Year 10 Science: DNA Models

ROrr@balcc.vic.edu.au (Ruth Orr) — Fri, 06 Aug 2021 00:23:48 GMT

Our Year 10 Science students have been making models of DNA to show the ‘base pairing rule’ i.e. that A pairs with T and C pairs with G. The students also twisted their models to show the double helix shape of the DNA and learned about nucleotides, which make up the double strands of the DNA.

Year 9 HPE: Lawn Bowling

ROrr@balcc.vic.edu.au (Ruth Orr) — Fri, 06 Aug 2021 00:10:23 GMT

Our Year 9 students have commenced lawn bowls as part of their Health and Physical Education classes for Term 3. The students walk to Sebastopol Bowling Club, where volunteers from the club are teaching them skills and techniques, as well as providing opportunities for socialisation.

New BalCC Board Appointment: Tim Clark

ROrr@balcc.vic.edu.au (Ruth Orr) — Fri, 30 Jul 2021 03:51:27 GMT

We are pleased to announce the appointment of Pastor Tim Clark to the Ballarat Christian College Board as a Director. Originally from Ballarat Tim moved to New South Wales to train for ministry at the Churches of Christ Theological College N.S.W (now called Australian College of Ministries). After graduating in 1995, he had fruitful ministry roles as the Youth Pastor and Pastor of churches in New South Wales, South Australia, and Victoria. Tim is currently working as the Pastor of the Peel St Church of Christ, which is Tim’s home church and where he grew up and was baptised. Tim is a father of four children, three who are graduates of the Ballarat Christian College, with his youngest son currently in Year 9 at the College. Tim loves spending time with his children, driving and working on his EH Holden, playing badminton and supporting the North Melbourne Kangaroos.

Year 7 Visual Arts: Visiting Japan

ROrr@balcc.vic.edu.au (Ruth Orr) — Fri, 30 Jul 2021 03:46:49 GMT

Our Year 7 Visual Arts students continued their “Artrageous Journey” this week “visiting” Japan, which also tied in with the commencement of the Olympic Games. The students were able to do artworks composed from a combination of different media and materials, with students selecting to do pencil and digital drawings, semi-abstract portraits and water colour paintings to create some amazing art.

BalCC Signage Project

ROrr@balcc.vic.edu.au (Ruth Orr) — Fri, 30 Jul 2021 03:31:03 GMT

This week our Maintenance team were busy around campus putting up our latest delivery of new signage. In this stage of our signage project blue and white external signage for our Learning Enhancement Centre, Multi-Purpose Centre and Trade Training Centre was created, along with BalCC Core Value signage.

Year 5: Mapping for Treasure

ROrr@balcc.vic.edu.au (Ruth Orr) — Fri, 30 Jul 2021 03:16:32 GMT

The Year 5 students have been studying a unit on graphs and mapping. This week using compass points they wrote down ten directions for a fellow classmate to follow to take them to a treasure hidden around the College campus.

Welcome to BalCC: Isaac Baker

ROrr@balcc.vic.edu.au (Ruth Orr) — Fri, 30 Jul 2021 03:16:28 GMT

NEW STAFF: Isaac Baker will be working in the ICT Department with our ICT Manager, Trevor Clough. Isaac was a graduate of our class of 2017 and we welcome him back to the College as a member of staff.

Year 11 Physics: Study Motion

ROrr@balcc.vic.edu.au (Ruth Orr) — Fri, 30 Jul 2021 03:16:17 GMT

This week the Year 11 Physics class were pleased to try out our new motion sensors to study motion. Using a laptop, students used Neulog software to plot a graph of the motion of a dynamics cart in real time, which the students then analysed. The students are still getting used to the devices, which are a significant technological advance on the old ticker-timers. The sensor uses ultrasonic sound to detect an object’s movements.

LPA: HPE Soccer Skills

ROrr@balcc.vic.edu.au (Ruth Orr) — Fri, 30 Jul 2021 02:29:47 GMT

The Lower Primary A class were out learning some soccer skills this week. As part of their Health & Physical Education class Miss O’Hara took the students through some passing and kicking skills and techniques.

LPB & Year 3: Potato Olympics

ROrr@balcc.vic.edu.au (Ruth Orr) — Fri, 30 Jul 2021 02:19:27 GMT

Who is watching the Olympics at the moment? Even if you're not really into sports, it's such a positive way to bring our nation together, cheering our country on!

Lower Primary B and Year 3 celebrated the Olympics this week by participating in 'Potato Olympics'. The students made an athlete profile, decorated their potato 'athlete' and participated in a range of events based around the Olympics but building in a range of Maths skills.

Our Student Wellbeing Team

ROrr@balcc.vic.edu.au (Ruth Orr) — Fri, 30 Jul 2021 02:02:52 GMT

STUDENT WELLBEING TEAM: Rebecca Sebit joins our Student Wellbeing Team in a part-time capacity, joining Pastor Steve Shaw and Ashleigh Dalton. Mrs Sebit of course is already a familiar face around the College as a member of our Education Support Staff, a role which she will continue to fulfil.

Year 5: Urban Camp

ROrr@balcc.vic.edu.au (Ruth Orr) — Fri, 30 Jul 2021 02:01:18 GMT

Prior to the current lockdown our Year 5 students had the full urban camp experience in Melbourne. While on camp students visited Scienceworks, including the planetarium show “Solar System Odyssey” and did a tour of Parliament House, where they participated in a role play activity in which they had to debate the ban of plastic straws in Victoria. The students also enjoyed a picnic lunch at the Carlton Gardens, saw the Royal Exhibition Building and spent time at the Melbourne Museum, where they saw a 3-D IMAX show about the Great Barrier Reef. Along with all the locations visited, students also played many card games, enjoyed playing sport games on the Royal Park oval and enjoyed spending quality time with their classmates and teachers. The students also learnt how to travel around the city using public transport and put on a talent show with a variety of performances such as singing, dancing, telling jokes and doing magic tricks!

Welcome to BalCC: Rachel Fuentes

ROrr@balcc.vic.edu.au (Ruth Orr) — Fri, 30 Jul 2021 01:39:53 GMT

NEW STAFF: Rachel Fuentes has joined our Administration team, taking on the role of Receptionist. Rachel is taking over the role from Amy Parry, who has moved to other administrative duties in the office. Please make Rachel welcome as she settles in at the front desk at BalCC.

College Creek & Garden Beautification

ROrr@balcc.vic.edu.au (Ruth Orr) — Fri, 23 Jul 2021 01:38:44 GMT

Over the past few months the creek and surrounding garden area has been undergoing upgrades and beautification works. New fencing, seating, extra lighting and a concrete bridge have been installed. Thank you to our maintenance team for all their work in the creek area, in particular Chris McInerney, who has been working hard on the project. The temporary fencing will come down with the completion of the fencing around the bridge and we are excited to see the final results.

The nearby creek vegetable and fruit garden has also been expanded and improved by various year levels, in particular the Year 9 and 10 HASS classes under the guidance of teacher, Russell Barter who has mapped out and overseen the expansion. It is wonderful to see all the ongoing improvement works around our beautiful College campus.

Primary Drive-by

ROrr@balcc.vic.edu.au (Ruth Orr) — Fri, 23 Jul 2021 00:13:14 GMT

Our Primary teachers were busy on Tuesday morning running a drive-by collection of resources for parents and students. The teachers rugged up against the chilly morning and greeted families with warm smiles. If you were unable to pick up your resources on Tuesday, please contact our College Administration Office between 9:00am-4:00pm to organise collection.

Staff Profile: Malcolm Solomano

ROrr@balcc.vic.edu.au (Ruth Orr) — Fri, 23 Jul 2021 00:10:02 GMT

STAFF PROFILE: Malcolm Solomano grew up on the family farm at Talbot before going on to work in the building industry for over twenty years, working in the Maryborough area mostly but included three years when he worked in Site Management across the United Kingdom.

Malcolm completed a Bachelor of Education/ Technology at Federation University in Ballarat before managing secondary school alternate programs in Maryborough and Horsham, and for five years in Alice Springs. Upon returning to Victoria he spent more time teaching in Maryborough and in another program at Clunes before starting at BalCC in 2020.

The connection to BalCC was made when Malcolm’s youngest son, Isaac completed his final two years of schooling in 2018 and 2019. Malcolm currently teaches Maths, Christian Living, Work Related Skills and using his trade experience in teaching VET Building and Construction across secondary school year groups.

Our Learning Enhancement Centre

ROrr@balcc.vic.edu.au (Ruth Orr) — Thu, 15 Jul 2021 03:39:55 GMT

Our Learning Enhancement Centre (LEC) is a wonderful space within our College community that is devoted to assisting students engage in the learning process. We provide adjustments to support diverse ways of learning and aim to support students’ specific needs.

Our dedicated team of professionals in the LEC are led by Mrs Caroline Morrison (LEC Coordinator) and Mrs Emily Westblade (LEC Teacher) who both carry a passion for the enhancement of learning for all students. Experienced and committed Educational Support Staff assist teachers from Prep-Year 12 with implementing strategies in the classroom to cater for students’ diverse educational needs.

The LEC team collaborates with teachers, parents/carers, students and therapeutic professionals to provide a range of adjustments and teaching methods enabling every learner to participate in the learning process.

Educational Support Staff (ESS) support students in the classroom in conjunction with teaching staff. Our ESS staff are highly valued, as they help facilitate learning by rewording or reworking concepts with students, offer individual and/or small group work within the classroom and build relationships with and between students. We promote an inclusive classroom and respect the diversity of students’ learning needs, which enriches our College community.

In the Primary school students are given the opportunity to access support on a small group basis for THRASS training in the LEC led by Mrs Emily Westblade. Our College uses THRASS (Teaching Handwriting, Reading And Spelling Strategies) from Prep. These focus sessions aim to further develop students’ skills in understanding and developing tools to incorporate the use of the THRASS in all aspects of their education.

The LEC promotes building relationships and community and has started running a variety of programs throughout the lunch periods. In the upper Primary school, Mrs Cath McMurry is leading a crocheting group called the ‘M’Ms’. The group is crocheting handbags using plastic bags in an effort to contribute to sustainable living. A range of activities run during lunch periods led by ESS staff and some teachers. These groups include but are not limited to the following:

• Chess Club – Mrs Tania Duthie

• Finger knitting – Mrs Caroline Morrison & Mrs Rebecca Sebit

• Mindfulness Colouring – Mrs Tania Duthie and Mrs Linda Featherstone

• Craft – Mrs Sarah Inglis and Mrs Christine Barlow

A Homework Club during Lunch 2 operates in the LEC led by Mrs Duthie and is available to Secondary students requiring additional support. A Homework Club is also available on Wednesday afternoons from 3:30-4:30pm for students in Year 6-12 and is led by our dedicated teaching staff members.

The LEC also supports students that require Individual Education Plans (IEPs). Mrs Morrison and Mrs Westblade liaise closely with teaching staff and ESS to ensure that students are provided with Individual Education Programs (IEPs) and/or adjustments in the classroom to promote growth and success. Student Support Group (SSG) meetings are held each semester for students who receive an IEP. Recognising and appreciating the diverse needs of students, adjustments can be provided in classrooms to benefit all students.

Students who require adjustments but don’t require an IEP are supported with a Consultation Document. This document alerts all their teachers to specific adjustments which assist in promoting their engagement and learning in the classroom.

The LEC, in consultation with teachers, assists the College in applying for Special Provision for VCE students. We are currently in consultation with EGF Solutions/Gforce Inclusive Employment to develop career and transition readiness skills in students with specific learning needs.

The LEC building provides a space for approved therapists to hold sessions with students during school hours. It also provides an alternate learning space for staff to work with a range of abilities with access to alternate seating options. Rooms are available for students to sit tests or exams within a quiet environment.

For students wishing to extend themselves academically and take up the personal challenge of competing in international assessments, Ballarat Christian College will be participating in the world-renowned ICAS Assessments this year. ICAS is designed to target students’ high-order thinking and problem-solving skills in English, Mathematics, Science, Writing, Spelling Bee and Digital Technologies. Assessments are available to students from Years 4-10.

With experience and a commitment to ongoing training and development the LEC team meet regularly to adjust the way in which we offer quality support to our staff and students while striving to uphold our College values. The LEC promotes collaborate planning and partnership with families endeavouring to create a positive and enriching environment for learning to empower all students to reach their God-given potential!

Caroline Morrison LEC Coordinator and Emily Westblade LEC Teacher

BalCC Staff PD Day & CSA Conference

ROrr@balcc.vic.edu.au (Ruth Orr) — Thu, 15 Jul 2021 03:24:57 GMT

On Monday our teaching staff took part in the 2021 Christian Schools Australia Vic/Tas State Conference. Due to COVID-19 restrictions this year’s conference took place via broadcast media, with our staff viewing online from our MPC. The theme for this year’s conference was ‘Pedagogy-The Leadership of Learning’. Keynote speaker, Dr David Smith spoke on ‘Pedagogy in Christian Schools’ before staff broke up in to subject focussed discussion groups. On Tuesday all BalCC staff took part in an anaphylaxis training update and a worship session on ‘A Team of Builders’. As a social activity staff took part in a lawn bowling at Sebastopol Bowling Club, receiving tips and pointers from some of the players before enjoying lunch at the club. Thank you to the staff and players at Sebastopol Bowling Club for their wonderful hospitality.

Connect@BalCC Edition 2

ROrr@balcc.vic.edu.au (Ruth Orr) — Thu, 15 Jul 2021 03:24:55 GMT

Edition 2 of Connect@BalCC is now available for you. Connect@BalCC, is a digital flip book publication with news, photos and videos from Ballarat Christian College.

Connect@BalCC is filled with stories about the happenings in our Primary and Secondary, as well as Alumni and general information: https://issuu.com/ballaratcc/docs/balcc_connect_term_2_2021

Year 6: Science Project

ROrr@balcc.vic.edu.au (Ruth Orr) — Thu, 15 Jul 2021 03:00:40 GMT

Year 6 students were invited to participate in a Science project that celebrated their knowledge of electricity and electrical circuits. The design brief for the project was to create and light up a small model house/building with at least two lights. Each light had to be able to switch on and off independently of the other. Students who participated created very clever original designs with Lego, a popular choice for building material. Primary classes were invited to view the projects and many marvelled at the cleverness of using paperclips as switches.

New BalCC Signage

ROrr@balcc.vic.edu.au (Ruth Orr) — Thu, 15 Jul 2021 00:51:00 GMT

The first stage of our current signage program has been completed with the arrival of blue and white door signage for around the College. The next stage of the signage project will see large building and core value signage created. Thank you to the team at Signarama for their wonderful service from the conception stage right through to production.

Video - BalCC Athletics Carnival

ROrr@balcc.vic.edu.au (Ruth Orr) — Thu, 15 Jul 2021 00:49:10 GMT

Here are some highlights from the BalCC Athletics Carnival held in Term 2 at Llanberris Reserve. Happy viewing: https://vimeo.com/571124449

BGT Trainee Graduation

ROrr@balcc.vic.edu.au (Ruth Orr) — Thu, 15 Jul 2021 00:37:59 GMT

Congratulations to BalCC Administration team member, Amy Parry on graduating with a Certificate III in Business from Ballarat Group Training (BGT). Miss Parry undertook the certificate course as part of her one year traineeship at BalCC that involved on the job learning and training through BGT. Miss Parry was awarded her certificate this week by BGT Trainer & Assessor, Denise Wren and Apprentice & Trainee Consultant, Troy Westblade. Miss Parry will continue on at BalCC in the Administration team in an Accounts role, where she will continue to further her skills.

Opening of Primary Cubbies

ROrr@balcc.vic.edu.au (Ruth Orr) — Thu, 15 Jul 2021 00:25:53 GMT

Students from the Certificate II in Building and Construction have recently completed two cubby houses for the Primary School area. Students have developed skills in hand and power tool use and have continued on from the work started by students last year. It has been a hands-on project where Year 10-12 students enhance their existing skills and use these in a real life project where they can see the benefits of their labour.

Primary School students were very grateful to have these new additions in the area with an official opening and ribbon cutting ceremony performed by the Cert II students this week. Thank you cards were also presented to the staff involved in the project, Mr Solomano and Mr McInerney.

Mr Solomano, VET Trainer said “ It was a great project where students could develop their skills and see the results of their work being appreciated by others.” He went on to say “several students from last year have since found work in trade areas and we have used this project to enhance work opportunities for Ballarat Christian College students, as they enter the work force.”

To read The Courier article about the cubby opening head to the In The Media page of our website: https://www.balcc.vic.edu.au/in-the-media#&gid=1190542969&pid=1

Primary: NAIDOC Week

ROrr@balcc.vic.edu.au (Ruth Orr) — Thu, 15 Jul 2021 00:18:52 GMT

NAIDOC Week celebrations are held across Australia from 4-11 July to celebrate the history, culture and achievements of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. NAIDOC is celebrated not only in Indigenous communities, but by Australians from all walks of life. The week is a great opportunity to participate in a range of activities and to support your local Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community. Due to the week falling in the school holiday break we observed NAIDOC week at BalCC during the last week of Term 2, with our Primary students participating in a range of classroom activities.

BalCC Wins Landcare Grant

ROrr@balcc.vic.edu.au (Ruth Orr) — Thu, 15 Jul 2021 00:08:05 GMT

BalCC has been successful with our application for a 2021 Woolworths Junior Landcare Grant for our project, Waste Warriors.

As part of our initiative at BalCC to reduce our water and be better stewards of our resources; the Primary school SRC have provided each classroom with a food scraps bin. Students empty the scraps into the compost each day and give them to our two new chickens, Fleck and White Fang.

BalCC is one of 1,609 primary schools and early learning centres throughout Australia receiving a Woolworths Junior Landcare grant to help grow our next generation of environmental champions. The grants are being funded with a 10c contribution from each sale of the Woolworths Bag for Good at full price, which was launched in 2018 when Woolworths went single-use plastic bag free.

The Primary students and teachers are looking forward to working and learning from this project and we will keep you updated on the results.

Principal's Message: Term 2, 2021

ROrr@balcc.vic.edu.au (Ruth Orr) — Thu, 15 Jul 2021 00:02:57 GMT

The sense of ‘déjà vu’ probably summarises where we find ourselves as we reach the half-way point of the year. We all hoped that COVID-19 was largely in our rear-view mirror by this time, but unfortunately our optimism was dented by the realisation that a potential lockdown is never far away and that we have some way to go in this saga before it is truly behind us. The toll of repeated lockdowns upon our students and staff is very real as we struggle with the uncertainty of daily living. Not surprisingly, our Student Wellbeing Team are extremely busy supporting students who are finding times tough, and we are all grateful for their expertise and efforts in this area.

Despite being constrained by continuing COVID-19 restrictions, the College sought to provide as close-to-normal school experience for our students in Term 2. We were able to hold the College Athletics Carnival early in the term and (mostly) complete the Primary swimming program at the Swim and Survival Centre. Unfortunately, the senior Christian Studies retreat scheduled near the end of term was postponed, not because of COVID-19, but on account of storm damage to the camp venue in the Trentham area. I am pleased that we have secured an alternate date for the retreat, which is now scheduled to be held in early September.

During the first semester I have been very impressed by the leadership shown by our College Captains, supported by all students in the Year 12 cohort. They have demonstrated their leadership on several fronts, including mentoring some of our Year 10 students, organising and leading student prayer groups and providing leadership of the Student Senate. I meet with the College Captains on a weekly basis, which provides an opportunity for the communication and discussion of student concerns and ideas.

Term 3 will be a busy term, as we conduct several camps, excursions and incursions, some of which were held over from earlier dates due to COVID-19 restrictions. It is also the term when we begin the planning process for the following year, as our senior secondary students make their subject choices for the year ahead. As we prepare for the new term, I trust that staff and students will enjoy some down time during the Winter break. I pray that our whole community will know God’s blessing of peace, health and safety during the break and that we will start the new term refreshed and ready for what God has in store for our College. Ken Nuridin - Principal

French Celebration Day 2021

ROrr@balcc.vic.edu.au (Ruth Orr) — Wed, 14 Jul 2021 23:55:25 GMT

During the last week of Term 2 we held a French Celebration Day. Students from Prep-Year 8 dressed up for the theme ‘La France’ and enjoyed a musical performance and mime by Jacques and Philippe from C’est si bon. The performance included audience participation, as the experienced performers took the students on an hilarious journey of French drama and music using accordion, fife, drum, bombarde, singing, magic and mime. A French themed meal deal was offered by the Canteen and thank you to all the Year 9 students who helped Mrs Blackshaw prepare the meals.

Please enjoy our French Celebration Day video: https://vimeo.com/572393175

Year 5 STEM: Building Towers

ROrr@balcc.vic.edu.au (Ruth Orr) — Wed, 14 Jul 2021 23:34:51 GMT

The Year 5 students have been busy designing and constructing towers as part of their STEM studies. The students were given sixty pieces of spaghetti, a roll of tape, a metre of string, scissors and tape to build their towers. The students had to work as a team to plan and engineer a tower that was strong and tall. Along the way they learnt to problem solve, work together and test out their plans.

Year 7A Creek Field Study

ROrr@balcc.vic.edu.au (Ruth Orr) — Wed, 14 Jul 2021 23:22:00 GMT

The Year 7 HASS (Geography) students recently conducted a field study of our creek to consider how healthy the environment was. The students took measurements, made observations about what they noticed about the creek and then took water samples to study under microscopes the micro-organisms and look at water quality.

Alumni News: Class of 2017 Engagement

ROrr@balcc.vic.edu.au (Ruth Orr) — Fri, 18 Jun 2021 02:59:36 GMT

Alumni News: Congratulations to Class of 2017 graduates Brooke Letman and Isaac Baker on their recent engagement. Both Brooke and Isaac completed Year 12 at BalCC and were College Captains. Brooke went on to undertake a Bachelor of Veterinary and Wildlife Science at Federation University graduating in 2020. She is currently working in a Reception role at MC Physio. Isaac completed a one year internship at Enjoy Church and has also worked in roles including shed building and retail. Both are actively involved at Enjoy Church with Brooke taking part in singing and as a worship leader, and Isaac playing bass and guitar in the band, as well as being a band leader and helping lead ‘Empire Youth’.

We wish them every happiness in their future together.

Year 3: LOTE Puppets

ROrr@balcc.vic.edu.au (Ruth Orr) — Fri, 18 Jun 2021 01:52:20 GMT

Today in LOTE our Year 3 students used puppets to speak to each other in French, saying things such as: Hello, My name is, How are you?, I am feeling well/unwell and saying the date. At the end of each LOTE lesson if a student has not used English they get to write their name on a card and Madame Weightman pulls out a name and the selected student gets to pick from the prize box. Have a good weekend - Bon weekend!

Lower Primary B: Looking At Inventions

ROrr@balcc.vic.edu.au (Ruth Orr) — Fri, 18 Jun 2021 01:10:29 GMT

Students in Lower Primary B class have been learning about inventions this term. This week the students looked at the invention of aeroplanes and helicopters and how they have changed and improved over time. The students planned and conducted an investigation of the factors that affect a paper helicopter’s fall through air. They discussed the effects of push and pull on falling objects.

Year 7: Science Separation of Mixtures

ROrr@balcc.vic.edu.au (Ruth Orr) — Fri, 18 Jun 2021 01:04:32 GMT

In Science the Year 7 students have been working on the separation of mixtures for Chemistry. The students took part in a practical class where they filtered an insoluble substance from a liquid and used filter paper to separate plaster dust from water.

Whole College: Student Led Assemblies

ROrr@balcc.vic.edu.au (Ruth Orr) — Thu, 10 Jun 2021 07:26:55 GMT

It is wonderful to see both our Primary and Secondary students taking part in and leading College Assemblies. The Year 12 students recently ran the Secondary Assembly and shared about what life is like in their final year of school, from the subjects and programs undertaken to the privileges and experiences they have. At this week’s Primary Assembly our Lower Primary A students led some singing and dancing before Core Value and Merit awards were presented. Participating in College Assemblies is a great way for our students to develop confidence and demonstrate their individual talents.

SRC & Senate: Attend Leadership Conference

ROrr@balcc.vic.edu.au (Ruth Orr) — Thu, 10 Jun 2021 06:28:22 GMT

Our Year 6 students, Primary SRC and Secondary Senate recently attended a student leadership training conference at Federation University. The students had the opportunity to experience a number of effective leadership roles during the day’s activities and found out how best to model good student leadership in their school.

The conference was run by GRIP Leadership, an independent organisation that exists to train and develop leaders with a special focus on school students and the educational sector. The GRIP Leadership programs are fresh, practical, interactive and enjoyed by tens of thousands of students each year.

The core values below represent the heartbeat of all GRIP Leadership staff and volunteers:

Generosity - Willingness to use what you have been given (time and resources) on behalf of those you seek to influence.

Responsibility - We all have a responsibility to develop what we have and help others to live well.

Integrity - A commitment to truth and honesty in dealings.

People - Every human being is of great significance and has a purpose to fulfill.

Involvement in SRC and Senate allows our student leaders to have the opportunity to develop skills in leadership and communication, as well as gaining an understanding of democratic processes by being actively involved in activities that engage the College community as a whole.

LOTE Primary - juin – Le Tour de France

ROrr@balcc.vic.edu.au (Ruth Orr) — Thu, 10 Jun 2021 06:07:18 GMT

Every month Madame Weightman is decorating a mannequin in the LOTE room with a French theme.

The theme for June is the Tour de France, which is a men’s bike race which is held in June/July every year. It was created in 1903 and has become one of the most famous and most difficult races in the world, taking 23 days.

Competitors cycle in teams, over multiple stages. The route changes every year. Different jerseys (maillots) are awarded for those with the highest points at each stage.

Lower Primary A: Making Music

ROrr@balcc.vic.edu.au (Ruth Orr) — Thu, 10 Jun 2021 05:28:07 GMT

Our Lower Primary A class have been dancing and playing percussion instruments in Performing Arts, as part of learning about the basic elements of music and dance. The students made their own instruments and played them throughout the class before doing some dancing to ‘Move it Mob Style’, an Indigenous youth dance-based health and fitness program which teaches viewers dance routines and showcases the latest Indigenous hip hop beats, while also delivering strong health messages.

Year 9/10 Food Tech: Making Pizza

ROrr@balcc.vic.edu.au (Ruth Orr) — Thu, 10 Jun 2021 05:20:27 GMT

There were some delicious aromas coming from the Food Tech kitchen this week, as the Year 9 and 10 students made pizzas. After making up a wholemeal pizza dough bases the students prepared a Napoli sauce and topped their pizzas with a mix of toppings. Buon appetito– enjoy your meal and they certainly did!

Zany Beanie Day

ROrr@balcc.vic.edu.au (Ruth Orr) — Thu, 10 Jun 2021 05:01:15 GMT

Thank you to everyone who made a donation to our collection for The Salvation Army’s Winter Shield Appeal. Our SRC and Senate students packaged up the donated items of jackets, beanies and socks ready for delivery to the Salvation Army. There were some colourful beanies being worn on Monday for the SRC Zany Beanie Day. Thank you to the SRC students for organising the day and the collection. The donations will be very much appreciated, especially given our current cold snap. Stay warm everyone.

Year 4: Fab Boat Creations

ROrr@balcc.vic.edu.au (Ruth Orr) — Thu, 10 Jun 2021 04:27:55 GMT

During this term ‘The Fab Year 4s’ have been learning about Early European Sea and Land Explorers. They were very interested to learn about the different countries that were discovered by accident, and the food and animals that were taken back to the explorer’s homeland. As part of the unit, the Year 4 students were given the opportunity to construct a boat from recycled material - a milk carton, skewers, paper and cardboard. Students will have the opportunity to test their boat in the ‘wild waters’ of the creek before the end of term.

Lower Primary: Recycled Robots

ROrr@balcc.vic.edu.au (Ruth Orr) — Thu, 10 Jun 2021 04:21:33 GMT

During remote learning the Lower Primary A and B students were asked to design and make a robot from recycled materials. The students needed to think about designing their robot for the tasks it was being made for, so if it was for washing the dishes it might have had sponges for hands. On our return to face-to face learning the students brought their robots in to share with the class and talk about the special features of their robots. There were robots that helped clean rooms, gardening robots, breakfast making robots, cupcake making ones, homework helpers to a robbo pup! Next week students will be writing procedural instructions for their robot to carry out a task.

Thank You: BalCC Admin & ICT Teams

ROrr@balcc.vic.edu.au (Ruth Orr) — Thu, 10 Jun 2021 03:13:25 GMT

We are giving a shout out to our BalCC Administration and ICT teams for all the wonderful work they do, especially during lockdowns. Behind the scenes these teams work hard to keep things running smoothly at the College. A special thank you to the ICT team for getting around quickly to classes when we went in lockdown to supply devices for students to take home for remote learning. We appreciate everything you do for our College community.

Year 8A Science: Atom Experiment

ROrr@balcc.vic.edu.au (Ruth Orr) — Thu, 10 Jun 2021 03:05:14 GMT

Prior to the recent lockdown our Year 8A Science class were doing an experiment to model an atom. That is, to observe that its nucleus of an atom is very, very tiny compared to its size, and to also observe that the atom is made up of mostly empty space.

BalCC Athletics Carnival - Age Champions & House Winner

ROrr@balcc.vic.edu.au (Ruth Orr) — Fri, 28 May 2021 01:42:10 GMT

The 2021 BalCC Athletics Carnival House placings were 1st Unity, 2nd Slessor and 3rd Genesis.
The Age Champions were:
Under 8 Female: Stella T
Under 8 Male: Tim C
Under 10 Female: Shakira, L
Under 10: Male: Max T
Under 12 Female: Mayah T
Under 12 Male: Heath L
Under 14 Female: Tilly P
Under 14 Male: Thomas L
Under 16 Female: Nyajima R
Under 16 Male: Bangoang J
Under 21 Female: Nyachang D
Under 21 Male: Leslie T

Building & Construction: Cubbies Turf Installation

ROrr@balcc.vic.edu.au (Ruth Orr) — Fri, 28 May 2021 01:42:05 GMT

The Certificate II in Building & Construction students have been putting the finishing touches on the two cubbies they have built. This week saw the students laying turf around the cubbies in preparation for their opening to the Primary students in a few weeks. Located new the creek the cubbies are great addition to the Primary playgrounds. In their lunch break a few of the Primary students even called past to lend a hand.

Year 9/10 Chemical Science: Standard Solutions

ROrr@balcc.vic.edu.au (Ruth Orr) — Fri, 28 May 2021 00:36:19 GMT

Students in 9/10 Chemical Science have been learning and practising how to prepare a standard solution, and also how to perform titration to determine the concentration of an acid using their standard solutions.

Year 6: Science Circuits

ROrr@balcc.vic.edu.au (Ruth Orr) — Fri, 28 May 2021 00:16:51 GMT

As part of their ‘It’s Electrifying’ Science unit the Year 6 students have been looking at how to use a battery to light up a light bulb. The students constructed, tested and represented a functioning circuit using wires, batteries, fairy lights and bulbs. The hands on investigation allowed students to explore why their circuit worked or did not work and to provide reasoning via diagrams and observations. Moving forward, students will be learning about conductors and insulators and will be testing a variety of materials to see which category they belong.

LPA & LPB: Crazy Inventors

ROrr@balcc.vic.edu.au (Ruth Orr) — Thu, 27 May 2021 23:52:48 GMT

During Term 2 the Lower Primary A and B classes are using the book ‘God Thought of It First’ by Joan N. Keener, as an introduction to the theme crazy inventors. The classes are looking at how many inventions have been inspired by God’s creation and are looking at Australian inventors and inventions, including Indigenous Australians and the tools they invented. Students will also be designing and creating their own invented robots and write up a description of the robot’s capabilities and programming in the form of a procedural text. During class last week the students had the opportunity to dress up in two robot costumes made by one our BalCC parents and gain some ideas for their own robot inventions, which will be made from recycled items.

Volunteers Thank You

ROrr@balcc.vic.edu.au (Ruth Orr) — Thu, 20 May 2021 13:55:47 GMT

National Volunteer Week runs from 17-23 May and is Australia’s largest annual celebration of volunteers. We say thank you to all the volunteers at BalCC for your contributions to our College community.
If you are interested in becoming a volunteer, please contact our College Administration Office for an information pack.

Year 9/10 Food Tech: Wheat Products

ROrr@balcc.vic.edu.au (Ruth Orr) — Thu, 20 May 2021 13:44:16 GMT

As part of their study of wheat products the Year 9/10 Food Technology class have made Cornish pasties, and apple and cinnamon turnovers. The class have also been looking at the harvesting of wheat.

Year 12 Physics: Simple Collisions

ROrr@balcc.vic.edu.au (Ruth Orr) — Thu, 20 May 2021 13:29:16 GMT

This week the Year 12 Physics class, Alex and Matthew were investigating simple collisions with the dynamics carts. This was part of their study of conservation of momentum and energy. They used a stopwatch and ruler, and later the ticker-timer devices to calculate the velocity of the carts for their analysis.

Year 7 Textiles: Installation Artwork

ROrr@balcc.vic.edu.au (Ruth Orr) — Thu, 20 May 2021 12:50:26 GMT

Students have been working on various selected Textiles projects, which have included hand-sewing items such as pin-cushions, crochet, knitting, pompom making, and more.
This week students in Year 7 were shown an installation artwork, which was a photograph of an artwork created by artist, Deborah Hamon. She made about 2000 pom poms, all in shades of blue, white and turquoise, and then she took them to the Arctic, close to the North Pole. Here she photographed the pom poms, which were installed on top of the icy landscape. It is quite an interesting photograph. It was great to see the Textiles students inspired by such an installation artwork of Pom poms and now they are planning to “install” some sort of creation around the college some time in the future. One group of Year 7s decided to make “a pom-pom army of birds.” Most of that class decided to work collaboratively on this task. I’m sure there will be more photographs to come.
Carol Clough - Arts & Technology Faculty Coordinator

National Simultaneous Storytime - Give me some Space!

ROrr@balcc.vic.edu.au (Ruth Orr) — Thu, 20 May 2021 12:46:09 GMT

This week the Primary students took part in the National Simultaneous Storytime event, which is held annually by the Australian Library and Information Association (ALIA). Every year a picture book, written and illustrated by an Australian author and illustrator, is read simultaneously in libraries, schools, pre-schools, childcare centres, family homes, bookshops and many other places around the country. Now in its 21st successful year, it is a colourful, vibrant, fun event that aims to promote the value of reading and literacy, using an Australian children's book that explores age-appropriate themes, and addresses key learning areas of the National Curriculum for Foundation to Year 6. This year’s book was ‘Give me some Space!, by Philip Bunting. Students listened to a reading of the book and took part in classroom activities around the book’s theme of space.

Year 6: Open Afternoon with BalCC Staff

ROrr@balcc.vic.edu.au (Ruth Orr) — Thu, 20 May 2021 12:31:21 GMT

Last week the Year 6 class held an open afternoon for all BalCC Staff. Staff were invited along to the open afternoon to meet with the Year 6s and take part in a fun geometric art activity. The open afternoon also gave the students the opportunity to get to know some of the Secondary teachers before they transition to Year 7. The students and staff enjoyed hot chocolates and biscuits as they chatted and worked on their artworks.

Thank You Education Support Staff

ROrr@balcc.vic.edu.au (Ruth Orr) — Thu, 20 May 2021 12:07:47 GMT

May 15 was Education Support Staff Day. To celebrate the day we held a morning tea to say thank you to our wonderful Education Support Staff for all they contribute to our College community.

Prep & Year 12 Buddies

ROrr@balcc.vic.edu.au (Ruth Orr) — Thu, 13 May 2021 13:07:33 GMT

UNITY in our COMMUNITY: Our Prep and Year 12 buddies came together again this week in Homeroom. The Year 12s read stories to the Preps before spending some time talking together.

Lower Primary: Ascent Shoelace Tying Program

ROrr@balcc.vic.edu.au (Ruth Orr) — Thu, 13 May 2021 11:21:13 GMT

‘Tying laces will take you places’. Our Prep-Year 2 students have taken part in the Ascent Footwear shoelace tying program. The nine step program not only showed the students how to tie shoelaces, but also helped build their confidence, independence and motor skills. The presenters demonstrated the steps before moving on to help each student practice on their own shoelace pencil case before finishing with some games.
Ascent Footwear run the program in partnership with The Athlete’s Foot across Victorian schools.
Thank you to Chris from Ascent Footwear and Paul from The Athlete’s Foot Ballarat for coming and sharing the program with our students.

Year 7 Science: Mixtures

ROrr@balcc.vic.edu.au (Ruth Orr) — Thu, 13 May 2021 10:03:02 GMT

In Science our Year 7 students are starting to learn about mixtures. To test this out, the students dissolved common household objects like salt, sugar and flour in water to determine the solubility of these substances.

STAFF PROFILE: Bianca Francica

ROrr@balcc.vic.edu.au (Ruth Orr) — Thu, 13 May 2021 09:49:13 GMT

Bianca Francica completed her Bachelor of Education at Christian Heritage College in Brisbane before moving to the Ballarat area with her family. She commenced working at the College in 2011 as a Casual Relief Teacher, eventually becoming the permanent homeroom teacher for Year 7. Over the next few years Mrs Francica taught mainly in the upper Primary school including composite Year 3/4 and Year 5/6 classes. Over the past few years Mrs Francica has taught mainly in lower Primary and has also taught Primary Music classes and run the Primary Choir, Primary Chapel band, and the SRC. She is currently Head of Primary as well as Prep and Lower Primary Music teacher and also team teaches Lower Primary A with Mrs Walter.

Year 9 Portland Camp

ROrr@balcc.vic.edu.au (Ruth Orr) — Thu, 13 May 2021 09:40:46 GMT

Our Year 9 students have enjoyed a five day camp at Portland Bay Lodge Campsite. While on camp the students studied
different ecosystems, Indigenous land management and history, and different career opportunities. The camp was also an opportunity to prepare for another camp later in the year at Cape Bridgewater.
While on camp the Year 9s visited Mount Elephant, Tower Hill, Budj Bim, Cape Bridgewater, Mount Richmond, Discovery Bay Coastal Park and the Port of Portland. As well as campsite visits by Fisheries and Wildlife Officers and Deakin University and their boat, Yolla which is used for marine mapping. There were also supervised camp based activities, night activities, group discussions, and initiative games.

Year 7 & 8 Digital Technology: Lego Mindstorm

ROrr@balcc.vic.edu.au (Ruth Orr) — Thu, 13 May 2021 09:20:50 GMT

As part of their Digital Technology classes the Year 7 and 8 students have been taking part in Lego Mindstorm classes. The Year 7 students have been building a base Lego robot model, while the Year 8 students have been doing block coding.

BalCC Staff Hub Opens

ROrr@balcc.vic.edu.au (Ruth Orr) — Fri, 07 May 2021 02:38:27 GMT

Our new Staff Hub has opened and is a dedicated space for BalCC Staff to use for training, meetings, professional development. The space has been setup with conference facilities and a recycling station. The Staff Hub is a great space to have in addition to our Staff Room.

Staff Profile: Ken Nuridin

ROrr@balcc.vic.edu.au (Ruth Orr) — Fri, 07 May 2021 02:30:52 GMT

STAFF PROFILE – Principal Ken Nuridin – “My connection with the College goes back to 1993, when my eldest daughter commenced here in Year 1. I began teaching here 10 years later as the Year 5/6 teacher, then taught Prep/1 in 2005-6, followed by the Year 3/4 class in 2007. By this time the Primary school had merged with the Ballarat Christian College (Secondary) and I had taken on the role of Primary Coordinator, then Head of Primary (later Junior School) before becoming Principal in 2019. In later years I also taught throughout Secondary, including lower Secondary HASS and Year 12 History (Revolutions). This year I am teaching Year 11 Business Management in addition to my Principal role.”

LOTE Primary: Cannes Film Festival

ROrr@balcc.vic.edu.au (Ruth Orr) — Fri, 07 May 2021 02:26:04 GMT

mai – le Festival de Cannes (Cannes film festival)
For the month of May the theme for the LOTE room is the Cannes film festival and this week two of the Year 5 students donned formal wear and hit the red carpet.
From 1946 - 2003 it was called the International Film Festival. It premieres new films from all around the world and is held every year at the Palais des Festivals et des Congrès. The highest award they give is for best film, and it is called the Palme d’Or (Golden Palm). Many movie stars and directors attend.

Mother's Day Stall

ROrr@balcc.vic.edu.au (Ruth Orr) — Fri, 07 May 2021 02:22:51 GMT

Cups, craft, pens, signs and soaps were just some of the lovely gifts the Primary students could choose from at our Mother’s Day stall this week. Thank to Mrs Duthie for organising and running the stall with help from some of our VCAL students. Some very happy shoppers are heading home with some lovely gifts.

BalCC Athletics Carnival – Awards

ROrr@balcc.vic.edu.au (Ruth Orr) — Fri, 07 May 2021 02:13:07 GMT

PHOTO GALLERY: BalCC 2021 Awards.

BalCC Athletics Carnival – Prep-Year 2 events

ROrr@balcc.vic.edu.au (Ruth Orr) — Fri, 07 May 2021 02:07:13 GMT

PHOTO GALLERY: BalCC 2021 Athletics Carnival – Prep-Year 2 events.

BalCC Athletics Carnival – Track events.

ROrr@balcc.vic.edu.au (Ruth Orr) — Fri, 07 May 2021 01:52:57 GMT

PHOTO GALLERY: BalCC 2021 Athletics Carnival – Track events.

BalCC Athletics Carnival – Discus & Shotput

ROrr@balcc.vic.edu.au (Ruth Orr) — Thu, 06 May 2021 23:50:32 GMT

PHOTO GALLERY: BalCC 2021 Athletics Carnival – Discus and Shotput events.

BalCC Athletics Carnival – High Jump & Long Jump

ROrr@balcc.vic.edu.au (Ruth Orr) — Thu, 06 May 2021 23:49:53 GMT

PHOTO GALLERY: BalCC 2021 Athletics Carnival – High Jump and Long Jump events.

BalCC Athletics Carnival – Genesis, Slessor & Unity Houses

ROrr@balcc.vic.edu.au (Ruth Orr) — Thu, 06 May 2021 23:34:49 GMT

PHOTO GALLERY: BalCC 2021 Athletics Carnival – Genesis, Slessor and Unity houses.

BalCC Athletics Carnival – Staff & Student Helpers

ROrr@balcc.vic.edu.au (Ruth Orr) — Thu, 06 May 2021 23:27:03 GMT

PHOTO GALLERY: BalCC 2021 Athletics Carnival. Thank you to all the House Captains, student helpers and staff who helped out at this year’s carnival. Thank you to all the parents/carers who came along to watch and cheer the students on in their various events.

Student Achievement: Year 11 Represents Ranger Guides

ROrr@balcc.vic.edu.au (Ruth Orr) — Fri, 30 Apr 2021 03:50:11 GMT

BalCC Year 11 student, Amy represented Girl Guides on Anzac Day as a member of the flag party for the Ballarat Dawn Service. Amy is a member of Ballarat Ranger Guides and she enjoys taking on added responsibilities, such as the dawn service, when they arise. It was a cool but beautiful morning for the dawn service. No one in the flag party was allowed to wear a jacket so Amy decided that if she felt cold, she would direct her thoughts to the suffering that the ANZACS endured far away from the comforts of home.

Alumni News: Class of 2020

ROrr@balcc.vic.edu.au (Ruth Orr) — Fri, 30 Apr 2021 02:39:22 GMT

ALUMNI NEWS: Class of 2020 graduate, Jack McGilligan has commenced volunteering in our Year 7 and 8 Performing Arts classes. Jack plays tenor saxophone for the Haddon Community Band and during his time at BalCC was involved in several bands and ensembles. Jack is studying a Bachelor of Education Prep-Year 10 majoring in Maths and Science at Federation University. While sharing his knowledge of music with our students Jack is also gaining valuable teaching experience.
If you are interested in volunteering at BalCC, please contact the Administration Office for an information pack.

Cert III in Building & Construction: Cubby Roof Installation

ROrr@balcc.vic.edu.au (Ruth Orr) — Fri, 30 Apr 2021 02:22:39 GMT

The Certificate II in Building and Construction students put the roofs on the two new Primary cubbies this week. The completed cubbies will be unveiled by the Building and Construction students and handed over to the Primary students in the next few weeks. The Primary students have been excitedly watching the progress of the cubby project and are looking forward to using the cubbies. Well done to the Building and Construction students on the construction of the cubbies.

Year 9B: HASS

ROrr@balcc.vic.edu.au (Ruth Orr) — Fri, 30 Apr 2021 02:19:59 GMT

The Year 9B HASS students were learning construction and teamwork skills this week, as they worked in the creek garden. New roofing is being added to an existing structure to provide a covered seating area, the base of the chicken coop is being constructed and extra garden beds are being built.

BalCC Homework Club

ROrr@balcc.vic.edu.au (Ruth Orr) — Fri, 30 Apr 2021 01:30:13 GMT

The after school Homework club has commenced again for Term 2 for Secondary and Year 6 students.
This is a service offered at no extra charge to parents. Homework Club offers the students the chance to get some extra help or just get some homework done straight after school.
The program is run by Mr Preston, Mrs Kemp and Mrs Coventry and other teachers as they are available. The venue will be the Science Lab (S1) and the program will run from 3:30 until 4:30pm every Wednesday unless otherwise notified.
Attendance at this program is optional, but if your child would like to take advantage of Homework Club, even just on a casual basis, we would love to see him or her there. Please email bcc@balcc.vic.edu.au if you would like your child to attend our Homework program. Include in the email the Subject heading: Homework Club and in the message include your child’s name. You can also send a text to the College mobile number to let us know that your child will be attending Homework Club. Please remember to include your child’s name and sender’s name. If you have any questions about Homework club, please ask your child’s Homeroom Teacher.

Year 7 & 8 New Music Program

ROrr@balcc.vic.edu.au (Ruth Orr) — Fri, 30 Apr 2021 00:53:10 GMT

Students in Year 7 and Year 8 have an exciting opportunity this year to learn an instrument in Performing Arts class. It will form the centrepiece of the music curriculum within this subject, and we are very pleased to be reinstating this program after it has been out of action for several years.
As this is the core component of our revitalised music curriculum, all students will need to bring their instruments home to practice. Most written work will be completed within class time, so the majority of students' homework will be to practice their instrument. This is a key advantage of our focus on instrumental learning, which allows for significantly improved student achievement, compared to only playing once per week in class.
Ballarat Christian College is supporting this program by covering the full cost of hire and normal servicing of instruments, as well as tuition, which will occur during Performing Arts class time. This significant investment by the College enables all students to take this opportunity.
All Year 7 students will learn a wind instrument or the violin, and all Year 8 students will learn the guitar. When the current Year 7 students progress to Year 8 in 2022, they will have the opportunity to learn guitar and/or to continue their 2021 instrument in private lessons.
Private music tutors are available at BalCC within school hours during term. To find out more, please contact the tutors directly. Frank Francica - Guitar 0408 670 124, Daniel Gay - Drums 0402 701 419, Brian Hamilton - Piano, brass, theory 0437 718 012, Yvonne Holley - Violin 0416 026 871, Clive Meddings - Brass instruments 0409 333 890, Roger Schultz – Piano/Keyboard 0418 358 078.

New Staff Profile: Ashleigh Dalton

ROrr@balcc.vic.edu.au (Ruth Orr) — Fri, 30 Apr 2021 00:25:12 GMT

Welcome to our newest member of staff, Ashleigh Dalton, who was recently appointed to our Student Wellbeing Team. Mrs Dalton has extensive experience in the counselling field and is returning to employment after a break to raise her young family. Mrs Dalton commenced her part-time role at the start of Term 2 and will work alongside our College Chaplain, Pastor Steve Shaw to provide counselling and support to students.

Year 6: Food Tech & Design Tech Classes

ROrr@balcc.vic.edu.au (Ruth Orr) — Fri, 30 Apr 2021 00:20:28 GMT

The Year 6 students have continued on in Term 2 with Design Technology and Food Technology classes. This week the Food Tech students made savoury muffins, while the Design Tech students continued work on their noughts and crosses games.

BalCC Attend Anzac Day Services

ROrr@balcc.vic.edu.au (Ruth Orr) — Thu, 29 Apr 2021 23:38:36 GMT

The BalCC College Captains and Primary SRC attended Anzac Day services in Ballarat and Sebastopol to honour those who have given their lives and service for the freedoms we enjoy today. ‘Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.’ John 15:13 NIV

Prep & Year 12 Buddies

ROrr@balcc.vic.edu.au (Ruth Orr) — Thu, 29 Apr 2021 23:36:13 GMT

Our Year 12 students came together with our Prep students for a combined Homeroom recently. The Preps were given a Year 12 buddy at the start of Term 1 and throughout the year they will spend time together getting to know each other. On the Year 12’s final day of school the Preps walk them into their graduation assembly. It is wonderful to see the friendships forming between the two year levels.

New Digital Flip book: Connect@BalCC Edition 1

ROrr@balcc.vic.edu.au (Ruth Orr) — Wed, 28 Apr 2021 01:51:30 GMT

We are excited to be launching Connect@BalCC, a new digital flip book publication with news, photos and videos from Ballarat Christian College.
Connect@BalCC is filled with stories about the happenings in our Primary and Secondary, as well as Alumni and general information. https://issuu.com/ballaratcc/docs/balcc_connect_term_1_2021

BalCC Festival of Writing

ROrr@balcc.vic.edu.au (Ruth Orr) — Thu, 22 Apr 2021 13:08:39 GMT

How to enter
Write an original short story using the 2021 Book week theme- Old worlds, new worlds, other worlds.
Submit it to your teacher before 27 August 2021 .

Make sure your story is original (that means it is your own creative ideas). Make sure your story is written neatly or typed up so that it is easy to read.
Make sure you check your VCOP (Vocabulary, Connectives, Openers, Punctuation).
Make sure your story is between 100-500 words

Selected stories will be published and placed in the Library.

Term 1 Break Campus Improvements

ROrr@balcc.vic.edu.au (Ruth Orr) — Thu, 22 Apr 2021 12:30:16 GMT

Over the Term 1 break improvements around the BalCC campus have continued. The Primary playground and garden area has been extended. The creek fencing has been upgraded and work has commenced on the construction of a new bridge. A chicken coop has been built in the creek garden area and preparation work has continued on the area for the two new cubbies in the Primary playground. The Primary Staff car park has been concreted and lighting upgrades around the campus have continued. Safety barriers have been added to the Multi-Purpose Centre entrance, the Warreen Street gates and the Primary drop off zone.

BalCC Music Tutors

ROrr@balcc.vic.edu.au (Ruth Orr) — Thu, 22 Apr 2021 11:59:13 GMT

Private music tutors are available at BalCC within school hours during term. To find out more, please contact the tutors directly. Frank Francica - Guitar 0408 670 124, Daniel Gay - Drums 0402 701 419, Brian Hamilton - Piano, brass, theory 0437 718 012, Yvonne Holley - Violin 0416 026 871, Clive Meddings - Brass instruments 0409 333 890, Roger Schultz – Piano/Keyboard 0418 358 078.

PSW Uniforms

ROrr@balcc.vic.edu.au (Ruth Orr) — Thu, 22 Apr 2021 11:42:59 GMT

Our uniform supplier PSW is located at 1013 Howitt Street, Wendouree and are open Tuesday-Friday 9:00am-5:00pm and Saturday 10:00am-1:00pm. For more information head to their website: https://www.psw.com.au
BalCC has a dedicated Facebook page for the sale of secondhand uniforms. The Facebook page is open to College families and is called ‘Ballarat Christian College - secondhand uniforms’ . If you do not have access to Facebook please contact the College Administration staff and they will organise to have your uniform sales photos and information uploaded to the page.

Staff Retreat

ROrr@balcc.vic.edu.au (Ruth Orr) — Thu, 22 Apr 2021 11:40:22 GMT

As part of their professional development training BalCC staff took part in a two day retreat at Narmbool estate in Elaine.
Over the two days staff took part in culture, vision and faith workshops based around the Christian Schools Australia’s, Flourish resources. Staff also took part in worship sessions, team challenges and enjoyed some free time around the estate going for walks and taking painting classes in the garden. The retreat was a great time of fellowship for staff and a wonderful way to commence Term 2. Thank you to the team at Narmbool for their hospitality.

Principal's Message: Term 1, 2021.

ROrr@balcc.vic.edu.au (Ruth Orr) — Wed, 31 Mar 2021 22:35:55 GMT

After the disruption of 2020 it is wonderful to enjoy some return to normality in Term 1, albeit with some constraints still in place and the little hiccup that was the 5-day lockdown. As we move into Term 2 we expect to be able to relax or withdraw most of the remaining restrictions, enabling us to welcome back parents and visitors into the College.

During 2020 the College took advantage of the extended absence of students by bringing forward a number of improvement projects around the College grounds. Some projects continued into 2021, including improvements to the appearance and utilisation of the Creek area and the provision of a significantly enlarged classroom in the old Primary wing, which will be mainly utilised for the teaching of Visual Arts. The former Primary Art room was refurbished to become the Secondary Art room, which in turn allowed the conversion of the former Secondary Art room into a much-needed additional Science room for Secondary and upper Primary classes. As we welcome parents and visitors back onsite, we would love the opportunity to show you around the College. If you would like a tour, please contact the College office with your details.

Our new Year 9 Micah 6:8 program if off and running and being well received by our Year 9 students. In keeping with the Scripture text after which it is named, the program seeks to encourage students to build positive relationships, help others and develop a sense of personal investment in the College. During the year they will be involved in partnering with Primary classes, participating in careers-focused activities such as gaining a food handling certificate, barista-style coffee making, obtaining a first aid certificate, preparing resumes and inductions. They will also participate in two camping experiences in addition to their usual Year 9 studies. Throughout the program the aim is to develop students’ confidence, resilience, problem-solving skills and their ability to work as a member of a team.

I take this opportunity to welcome our newest member of staff, Mrs Ashleigh Dalton, who was recently appointed as a member of our Student Wellbeing Team. Ashleigh will take up her role in Term 2 alongside our College Chaplain, Ps Steve Shaw.

I wish all members of our College community a restful, safe Easter holiday. May it be a time where we can reflect on the magnitude of God’s love for us and the eternal hope and assurance that the Easter message brings.

Ken Nuridin - Principal

BalCC Swimming Carnival Awards

ROrr@balcc.vic.edu.au (Ruth Orr) — Wed, 31 Mar 2021 22:35:46 GMT

Congratulations to Unity on winning the 2021 BalCC Swimming Carnival. The final point score was: Unity 722, Genesis 648 and Slessor 409.
The Age Champions were:
Under 10 Female: Ava M
Under 10: Male: Max T and Duke W
Under 12 Female: Mayah T
Under 12 Male: Will L
Under 14 Female: Tilly P
Under 14 Male: Codey F and William M
Under 16 Female: Sharla M

Under 16 Male: Matthew G

Under 21 Female: N/a

Under 21 Male: Max B & Leslie T

Year 3: Pin Wheel Testing

ROrr@balcc.vic.edu.au (Ruth Orr) — Wed, 31 Mar 2021 13:20:52 GMT

The sunny weather and warm wind were the ideal conditions for the Year 3 students to test out the pin wheels they made as part of an Ecolinc Science and Technology Innovations Centre incursion. The students became Design Engineers making pin wheels in various sizes and materials before taking them to the oval for testing.

Year 6: Graduation Tops

ROrr@balcc.vic.edu.au (Ruth Orr) — Wed, 31 Mar 2021 13:15:12 GMT

This week our Year 6 students took delivery of their graduation year tops. The tops feature the names of all the students and can be worn with their PE uniform each week. The Year 6s have had a busy Term 1 and finished off the week with a nature walk along the Yarrowee Creek, Yuille’s Wetlands and Wallaby Track.

Easter Around BalCC

ROrr@balcc.vic.edu.au (Ruth Orr) — Wed, 31 Mar 2021 11:24:50 GMT

This week at BalCC we have been celebrating Easter with activities, crafts, egg hunts, food treats and a whole College Chapel. We hope that you have a refreshing Term 1 break and be blessed as you celebrate the true meaning of Easter, from the reflection of Good Friday to the joy of Easter Sunday and the promise of eternal life.

LOTE French: April Fool's Day

ROrr@balcc.vic.edu.au (Ruth Orr) — Wed, 31 Mar 2021 10:56:10 GMT

LOTE French: April Fools’ Day
avril – poisson d’avril (April fools’ Day)
A poisson d’avril is a joke made on April 1st.
Did you know students at this College now don’t need to wear a school uniform? Poisson d’avril! (It’s a joke)
Children in France try to stick a fish picture on their friends’ back. When it is discovered, they shout “Poisson d’avril!”
There are many, many theories as to how this tradition started. Some say that April was a bad month for fishing, or a time when fishing was forbidden. So, to serve fish to eat in April was impossible – it could only be a joke.

2021 Student Leadership Badging

ROrr@balcc.vic.edu.au (Ruth Orr) — Wed, 31 Mar 2021 10:48:38 GMT

This week the BalCC House Captains, Senate, Deacons and Year 12 students received their badges. Congratulations to all the students on their leadership roles.

Primary Open Afternoon

ROrr@balcc.vic.edu.au (Ruth Orr) — Wed, 31 Mar 2021 10:36:12 GMT

A Primary open classroom afternoon was held this week in accordance with the College’s COVID safe plan. Students, staff, parents and families have missed socialising on College grounds over the last year, so it was exciting to show visitors the many exciting things that have been happening around campus and in class.

Year 8: Girls in STEM

ROrr@balcc.vic.edu.au (Ruth Orr) — Wed, 31 Mar 2021 10:23:43 GMT

A selection of Year students had the opportunity to attend Girls in STEM program at the Ballarat Tech School last week. STEM is a curriculum based program on the idea of educating students in four specific disciplines — science, technology, engineering and mathematics.
The Girls in STEM program is structured with two consecutive program days, in each term in 2021, and is a combination of industry tours, guest speakers, skill-based workshops and applied hands-on learning to support girls in exploring their STEM pathways within an industry area.
The Term 1 workshop was in collaboration with Young Change Agents, a group that helps young people to see problems as opportunities by building their own social enterprises. Social enterprises are businesses that can make a real difference in your community! In the two day Explorer program run in partnership with the Ballarat Tech School's Girls in STEM program, students explored local community needs, selected issues to work on that they were passionate about, learnt about potential customers, then worked on a solution that they will pitch to a local panel of experts for feedback. By the end, students will have kickstarted their pathway to becoming a founder and have learnt the mindset, skillsets and toolsets needed to be their own social entrepreneur!

Year 7 Easter Projects: Textiles & Christian Living

ROrr@balcc.vic.edu.au (Ruth Orr) — Wed, 31 Mar 2021 10:13:35 GMT

In Christian Living and Textiles the Year 7 students have created a variety of works based on Easter. It is wonderful to such creativity amongst our students.

Year 6 Easter Art

ROrr@balcc.vic.edu.au (Ruth Orr) — Wed, 31 Mar 2021 10:04:54 GMT

For the past two weeks, the Year 6 students have been exploring watercolour paintings based on “Easter” in the Art room. Students were shown techniques such as “wet on wet” and “wet on dry”, splattering and masking. They looked at other Easter paintings created throughout history and then they were asked “what does Easter mean to you?”
The artworks shown in the photos are mostly finished, with just some final details to be added.
“Set your mind on things above, not on earthly things.” Col.3:2
“...for freedom Christ has set us free.” Gal. 5:1
“Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of Grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.” Hebrews 4:16
Jesus is risen! These are artworks of praise. I pray you have a blessed Easter.
Carol Clough - Arts & Tech Faculty Coordintor

Year 8 Visual Art: Papermagiclay

ROrr@balcc.vic.edu.au (Ruth Orr) — Wed, 31 Mar 2021 10:01:38 GMT

The Year 8 students were given Papermagiclay to use in Art. The students could make something based on Easter or something of their choice. Students used lots of modelling skills to create these cute creations.

SRC Recycling Workshop

ROrr@balcc.vic.edu.au (Ruth Orr) — Wed, 31 Mar 2021 09:55:55 GMT

Our Primary Student Representative Council (SRC) is in the process of launching a recycling initiative within our College community and as part of the preparations the SRC Captains and Vice Captains took part in a full-day recycling workshop run by Year 5 teacher, Beth Simonis.
The purpose of the workshop was to inform and inspire our young student leaders about sustainability and recycling before we promote this further within the whole College during Term 2 and beyond. Our SRC will help to lead our recycling scheme by sharing their knowledge with others and encouraging their peers to recycle.
During the workshop the SRC gained an understanding of what things we can recycle and the purpose of recycling, the role and impact of excess waste on the environment and how we can take action within our College community to reduce wastage. The workshop program was developed by BalCC and based on information from Waste Warriors.

Multicultural Day 2021

ROrr@balcc.vic.edu.au (Ruth Orr) — Fri, 26 Mar 2021 02:22:23 GMT

PHOTO GALLERY: Last Friday across the College we celebrated Multicultural Harmony Day which lines up with the beginning of Harmony Week across Australia. Thank you to the parents who came in to share about their cultures with the Primary students, and to Mrs Blackshaw and her Secondary student helpers for preparing a delicious meal deal.

Sunsmart Message: UV is still around

ROrr@balcc.vic.edu.au (Ruth Orr) — Fri, 26 Mar 2021 01:06:20 GMT

It may be grey and cold and rainy right now but UV radiation levels can still be high and damaging. Please keep sun protection on the agenda at least until the end of April. To be sure, check the free SunSmart app or widget for daily sun protection times and UV levels. So, please remember to use sun protection during the term break and keep it going into Term 2.

Primary Easter Chapel

ROrr@balcc.vic.edu.au (Ruth Orr) — Fri, 26 Mar 2021 01:00:04 GMT

This week at Primary Chapel the students were visited by a ‘new look’ Missy Pickletoe. Miss O’Hara spoke to the students about the meaning of Easter before moving on to audience interviews with the help of Missy Pickletoe and some Year 5 students. It was great to see the Year 5 students leading Chapel and to be able to come together again the MPC.

Year 9 & 10 Chemical Science Experiment

ROrr@balcc.vic.edu.au (Ruth Orr) — Fri, 26 Mar 2021 00:51:14 GMT

The Year 9/10 Chemical Science students are working in pairs to investigate the effect of the pH of acidic water on the growth of seedlings. The students water their seedlings with solutions of different pH and will record their observations over the next two weeks and then present their findings to the class.

LOTE French: Macaron Day

ROrr@balcc.vic.edu.au (Ruth Orr) — Fri, 26 Mar 2021 00:46:00 GMT

Established in 2005 in Paris Macaron Day is celebrated on 20 March every year to celebrate the French macaron and to support local charities. It is with this tradition in mind that Madame Weightman asked talented Year 8 chef, Caitlin to bake some macarons to bless our hardworking College Staff on behalf of the French department. Staff were given a macaron each and could purchase extra macarons with the funds raised going to SPARSH Academy, a non-profit educational institution in India. BalCC is dedicated to a partnership with SPARSH Academy to uplift and support spiritually and financially underprivileged children, through an educational and a nutritional program.
SPARSH Academy focus on Education, Community Development, Health & Hygiene, Child Development and Literacy programs. Raising money for SPARSH Academy is achieved by fundraising at BalCC by students, teachers and donations from parents. Thank you to Caitlin for making the delicious macarons, which were made in the colour of the French flag and came in the flavours of blueberry, coconut, raspberry and bubble gum.

Year 11 & 12: Industry & Enterprise Interviews

ROrr@balcc.vic.edu.au (Ruth Orr) — Fri, 26 Mar 2021 00:31:40 GMT

The Year 11 and 12 Industry and Enterprise students have been conducting interviews with BalCC staff over the past week. The aim of the interviews is to have students become familiar and comfortable with interview procedures and processes. The students have also had to do a second interview with someone from outside of BalCC. On completion of the interviews the students have had to prepare the information they gathered during the interview process and give an oral presentation to their class. The interviews also give the students valuable knowledge about different industries and workplace structures.

Canteen - New Barista Machine

ROrr@balcc.vic.edu.au (Ruth Orr) — Fri, 19 Mar 2021 02:21:49 GMT

To celebrate the attainment of a barista machine in the Canteen some of the barista trained Secondary students made drinks for staff this morning, which were served with ANZAC biscuits made during Food Tech classes.

Year 11 Studio Art: Inspirations

ROrr@balcc.vic.edu.au (Ruth Orr) — Fri, 19 Mar 2021 00:13:48 GMT

Students in Year 11 Studio Arts have been researching and finding inspiration from lots of different sources to then outline their ideas, art forms and aesthetic qualities. Unit 1 is called : “Studio inspiration and techniques”.
Students were asked to bring in something that inspires them from home, for today’s class. There were some surprising objects that came in, including a dead seahorse!
The following photos show some of their inspiration, folio exploration and work so far.
Artfully, Carol Clough - Arts & Tech Faculty coordinator

Year 9: Visual Arts Still Life

ROrr@balcc.vic.edu.au (Ruth Orr) — Fri, 19 Mar 2021 00:08:58 GMT

Our Year 9 Visual Art students have been working on drawing from observation, based on a “Still life” set up in the Secondary Art room. The students were developing their pencil drawing and using observation skills.

CSEN Swimming Carnival 2021

ROrr@balcc.vic.edu.au (Ruth Orr) — Thu, 18 Mar 2021 12:57:18 GMT

Students from BalCC competed in the Christian Schools Events Network (CSEN) Primary and Secondary Swimming Carnival at Albert Park last week. Congratulations to all the students on your efforts in the pool and for showing great team spirit and sportsmanship during the two day carnival.

Cert II in Building & Construction: Cubby Project

ROrr@balcc.vic.edu.au (Ruth Orr) — Thu, 18 Mar 2021 12:31:02 GMT

The Certificate II in Building and Construction students have been busy over the past few weeks preparing the site for the two cubbies they have built. The students have cleared a site near the creek and poured a concrete pad for the cubbies. We can’t wait for the cubbies to be moved in to place and be ready for use by our Primary students. Two of our Primary students were keen to help out with the spreading of the concrete and spent some of their lunchtime helping out.

Year 7: Halls Gap Camp

ROrr@balcc.vic.edu.au (Ruth Orr) — Thu, 18 Mar 2021 11:55:40 GMT

Our Year 7 students had a great time on their three day camp to Halls Gap recently. They enjoyed a trip to the Halls Gap Zoo, archery, bush cooking and orienteering. The camp was a great opportunity for the students get to know one another better and form friendships.

Year 6: Sunflowers Visual Art

ROrr@balcc.vic.edu.au (Ruth Orr) — Thu, 18 Mar 2021 10:24:06 GMT

FROM Carol Clough, Arts & Tech Faculty Coordinator:

This Year 5 and 6 work was inspired by the beautiful sunflowers that are around at the moment, particularly the "Pick-your-own Sunflowers" currently on offer in Dunnstown. There have been so many beautiful photos of people enjoying this opportunity. It inspired me to show students the "Sunflower" artworks of the very famous artist, Vincent Van Gogh. There is actually one of his sunflower paintings currently in an exhibition at the National Gallery of Australia in Canberra! So for this cheery sunflower work, we have explored and discussed the artworks of not only Vincent Van Gogh, but also an Australian artist, Dana Kinter and the illustrative work of Eric Carle. He is the famous author/illustrator of many books including "the Very Hungry Caterpillar." Students have created their own beautiful "Sunflower" artworks using collage and drawing skills and techniques.

Did you know that scientists have discovered that a sunflower is most attractive to bees when it is warm, so it has developed a unique ability to turn to face the sun! That made me briefly think about us as Christians and how we should stand tall and firm and always turn to face the Son, Jesus Christ.
Vincent Van Gogh said "how wonderful the colour yellow is. It stands for the sun."

Year 8: Design Tech Projects

ROrr@balcc.vic.edu.au (Ruth Orr) — Thu, 18 Mar 2021 10:17:14 GMT

Throughout Term 1 the Year 8 Design Technology students have been designing and creating plastic clocks and LED displays. The students had to come up with their own design, draw it out and then make the piece. It is wonderful to see the student’s creative designs coming together throughout the production process.

Year 11: Biology

ROrr@balcc.vic.edu.au (Ruth Orr) — Fri, 12 Mar 2021 03:18:56 GMT

In Biology our Year 11 students are modelling how cellular membranes function by observing soap bubbles. The students determined the types of items that were able to be passed through the bubble membrane without popping it. They also used a piece of PVC pipe to model a channel protein embedded within the membrane, as part of a unit of work on how organisms function.

Year 7 & 8: Ballarat Tech School Excursion

ROrr@balcc.vic.edu.au (Ruth Orr) — Fri, 12 Mar 2021 03:01:51 GMT

Virtual reality, robotics and future foods were the three workshops our Year 7 and 8 students could take part in on a recent excursion to Ballarat Tech School. The students rotated through each workshop on the day long excursion hearing from the BTS teachers on each topic before getting hands on to explore the exciting world of STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Maths). The future foods workshop gave the students an opportunity to hear about algae, fungi, edible insects and alternative meats, as sources of food.
The Ballarat Tech School, hosted by Federation University, is a shared learning centre established by a partnership of local schools, industry partners, higher education providers and other stakeholders in the region.
The Ballarat Tech School is a centre of STEM excellence that engages students from partner schools in a high-tech learning environment with innovative learning programs that challenge students to solve problems in a real-world context.

Upcoming Event: Multicultural Day Mar 19

ROrr@balcc.vic.edu.au (Ruth Orr) — Fri, 12 Mar 2021 01:20:50 GMT

On March 19 BalCC celebrates Multicultural Harmony Day which lines up with the beginning of Harmony Week across Australia. We begin by acknowledging the Indigenous custodians of Australia,especially the Wadawurrung people and celebrate the arrival of people from many nations around the world. Harmony week also coincides with The United Nations Day against Racial Discrimination. Check out activities and resources on harmony.gov.au or maybe join with many others who are celebrating harmony day with food using this Recipes for Harmony resource https://www.harmony.gov.au/get-involved/schools/recipes/

Year 3: Making Slime

ROrr@balcc.vic.edu.au (Ruth Orr) — Fri, 12 Mar 2021 01:09:45 GMT

On Tuesday the Year 3 students took part in a ‘Slimy Science’ online incursion with Ecolinc Science and Technology Innovations Centre. Students were able to make slime along with the presenter during the session. They investigated what makes something a solid, liquid or gas and used the slime to investigate the states of matter. The presenter demonstrated how to make a bath bomb and used this to show how chemical reactions can produce a gas from a solid. The incursion was supported with demonstrations, film clips and information on how some of these things can be done at home.
The students had a fabulous time making the slime and trying to get it off their hands!

Year 5: HPE Athletics

ROrr@balcc.vic.edu.au (Ruth Orr) — Fri, 12 Mar 2021 00:40:20 GMT

On Thursday our Year 5 students took part in a Health & Physical Education lesson with a coach from Athletics Australia, as part of the Sporting Schools athletics program. The coach took the students through a vortex throwing activity to teach them throwing and running skills, before moving on to hurdles.

New Year 9 Program Launches - Micah 6:8

ROrr@balcc.vic.edu.au (Ruth Orr) — Thu, 04 Mar 2021 23:10:03 GMT

BalCC is running an exciting new Year 9 program this year titled, Micah 6:8 (What is good and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God!).

Alongside the core curriculum students participate in Micah 6:8, a program that is designed to build resilience and life skills, and encompasses subjects such as Careers and HPE, as well as tying in with the requirements for the bronze level of The Duke of Edinburgh Award. During the program students will focus on areas such as resilience, mental health, life skills, voluntary service, physical recreation and skills.

The program will run every Wednesday and will see the Year 9s involved in groups to run a café, mentor Primary students and participate in outside work.

Within the program students will also have the opportunity to attend 3 exciting camp opportunities:
•Job Camp a 3 day incursion that provides training in Food Safety, First Aid, Resume and Cover letter creation, Job Application and Interview skills, and Barista and Café skills.
• A five day coastal camp at Portland.
• A five day high country camp at Lake Eildon.

The program launched at the start of Term 1 and has seen the Year 9s already undertake their Food Safety, First Aid, Job skills and Barista and Café skills courses. These courses were conducted onsite by Short Courses Australia, one of the leading national training providers. We are so excited to have the Micah 6:8 program rollout at BalCC and to see the wonderful opportunities and learning experiences it will afford our students.

Photo Gallery: BalCC Swimming Carnival Winners

ROrr@balcc.vic.edu.au (Ruth Orr) — Thu, 04 Mar 2021 22:55:29 GMT

Photo Gallery: BalCC Swimming Carnival - Prep-Year 2

ROrr@balcc.vic.edu.au (Ruth Orr) — Thu, 04 Mar 2021 22:16:49 GMT

Photo Gallery: BalCC Swimming Carnival - Year 3-6

ROrr@balcc.vic.edu.au (Ruth Orr) — Thu, 04 Mar 2021 22:16:47 GMT

Photo Gallery: BalCC Swimming Carnival - Year 7-12

ROrr@balcc.vic.edu.au (Ruth Orr) — Thu, 04 Mar 2021 22:16:45 GMT

Photo Gallery: BalCC Swimming Carnival - Houses

ROrr@balcc.vic.edu.au (Ruth Orr) — Thu, 04 Mar 2021 22:16:41 GMT

Photo Gallery: BalCC Swimming Carnival - Biggest bomb, Ring Toss, Obstacle Course

ROrr@balcc.vic.edu.au (Ruth Orr) — Thu, 04 Mar 2021 22:16:39 GMT

Photo Gallery: BalCC Swimming Carnival - Staff & Student Helpers

ROrr@balcc.vic.edu.au (Ruth Orr) — Thu, 04 Mar 2021 22:16:35 GMT

BalCC Swimming Carnival 2021: Thank you to all the student helpers and staff who worked so hard to make our swimming carnival a great day.

Year 7: Exploring Textiles

ROrr@balcc.vic.edu.au (Ruth Orr) — Thu, 04 Mar 2021 22:16:16 GMT

Students in Year 7 Textiles have started the term discussing “what is textiles”. They discovered it is not just about sewing, it involves learning about lots of different skills and techniques with using fabrics, fibres and design, as well as learning and being inspired by other artists, designers and craftspeople.
They have started with a very exciting task of using alcohol inks on both mineral paper, which is soft like a fabric and made of mineral stone powder, as well as using the inks on some cotton fabric. The inks are really vibrant and blend in interesting ways to create some beautiful results.
Students have also started exploring design and have attempted some fashion design illustrations. This develops students creative thinking and ability to generate ideas. They were allowed to consider designing anything related to fashion design, including shoes, hats, sportswear, evening wear, everyday wear and more.

Year 6 Food Tech - Carrot or Vegetable Soup

ROrr@balcc.vic.edu.au (Ruth Orr) — Thu, 04 Mar 2021 22:06:08 GMT

Carrot or vegetable? That was the two types of soup that the Year 6 students had the choice of making last week in Food Technology. The Year 6s have split in to two groups to take part in Food Technology and Design Technology classes throughout the year. The Design Technology class is currently building wooden robots, while the Food Technology students have made soups and will now move on to making muffins. All the Year 6s came together to enjoy the soups with them all agreeing they were delicious!

Year 10 HASS SHIPS Program

ROrr@balcc.vic.edu.au (Ruth Orr) — Thu, 04 Mar 2021 22:01:17 GMT

The Year 10 HASS students have been busy out in the BalCC garden planting beetroot and marigold seeds, pruning the fruit trees and mulching gardens beds. They continued on with the construction of garden beds and started making a fence for climbing beans to grow on. The garden is beginning to take shape and fill out with plants.

Lower Primary: Travelling Australia

ROrr@balcc.vic.edu.au (Ruth Orr) — Thu, 04 Mar 2021 21:38:36 GMT

The Lower Primary classes have had a busy few weeks travelling around Australia. Last week the students were pretending that they were swimming in the deep dark water of the Tunnel Cave swimming area in the Kimberley region. The students were using informal units for measuring how deep the water was. In the story it was up to their armpits. Students also enjoyed drawing some of the creepy things that might be swimming in the dark water, as well as measuring and marking their height on the classroom tree.
The students also did a STEM activity that saw them creating a push or pull device to free their car from some ‘mud’! The students could use a toy car and craft materials to create a device that attached to a Beebot or Dash to get the stuck car from the ‘mud’.
This week the two Lower Primary classes joined together for Maths. They went outside and drew a pretend outline of Uluru. Together they investigated the perimeter and area of the shape using their bodies and their shoes.
We love hearing about the travels of our happy campers!

Year 6: Food Tech Soup

ROrr@balcc.vic.edu.au (Ruth Orr) — Mon, 01 Mar 2021 02:30:42 GMT

Carrot or vegetable? That was the two types of soup that the Year 6 students had the choice of making this week in Food Technology. The Year 6s have split in to two groups to take part in Food Technology and Design Technology classes throughout the year. The Design Technology class is currently building wooden robots, while the Food Technology students have made soups and will now move on to making muffins. All the Year 6s came together to enjoy the soups with them all agreeing they were delicious!

BalCC Canteen

ROrr@balcc.vic.edu.au (Ruth Orr) — Thu, 25 Feb 2021 23:48:48 GMT

The BalCC Canteen will be open every Wed and Fri via the cashless ordering system, QuickCliQ. To use QuickCliQ you need to set up an account in your name and add your children. If you have older children they can set up their own account if you wish for them to do so. To register your account and login head to: https://www.quickcliq.com.au/Default.aspx
Orders must be placed by 8:00am on Canteen days, which are every Wednesday and Friday.

Year 3-4: Ecolinc Plant Incursion

ROrr@balcc.vic.edu.au (Ruth Orr) — Thu, 25 Feb 2021 23:14:17 GMT

This week our Year 3 and 4 students went on a plant adaptations virtual excursion with Ecolinc Science and Technology Innovations Centre. The students were introduced to a number of different plants and tried to determine why they have their specific adaptations. The students took part in Kahoot quizzes and watched online live demonstrations, as well as receiving information for extension activities. Ecolinc provides a wide range of exciting and engaging onsite or outreach curriculum programs for P-12 students and teachers.

Primary Art Room Upgrade

ROrr@balcc.vic.edu.au (Ruth Orr) — Thu, 25 Feb 2021 23:05:13 GMT

‘Keep it curved, it’s Summer’ was the inspiration for the Year 4 students Visual Art class today. The students took their class in the newly revamped Primary Art room. The space now features a large storeroom for art supplies and a carpeted seating area, along with plenty of bench and desk space to set out artwork. We look forward to seeing some of the creative artwork that come from the Prep-Year 4 students who will use the space.

Available to BalCC Families: RightNowMedia

ROrr@balcc.vic.edu.au (Ruth Orr) — Thu, 25 Feb 2021 22:24:18 GMT

Last year we were introduced to RightNowMedia (“the Netflix of Christian education”), a Christian streaming service that offers a wide range of educational and inspirational Bible-based content suitable for churches, Christian schools and homes (currently over 25,000 videos). Following several weeks of viewing and testing the content, the Christian Living team at the College decided that we would subscribe to the service as an adjunct resource to our Christian Living/Certificate III courses.

A wonderful bonus of this service is that all families connected with Ballarat Christian College are now offered the opportunity to subscribe at no cost. We hope that you take the opportunity to subscribe and then will enjoy many hours of viewing.

You can go to: https://accounts.rightnowmedia.org/Account/Invite/BallaratChristianCollege?returnUrl=https://www.rightnowmedia.org/Account/Media/InviteReturn to get FREE access to the RightNowMedia library.

Once you've filled out the information, you will have more than 25,000 videos Bible studies, leadership videos, and resources on parenting, marriage, discipleship, and more all at your fingertips - thousands of great videos for students, kids, families, parents, and more.

You can view these videos directly from your phone, tablet, or computer. The RightNowMedia App is available from the AppStore or GooglePlay .

For more information about RightNowMedia go to: https://www.rightnowmedia.org/au

Introducing Lower Primary Year 1 & 2 - Happy Campers

ROrr@balcc.vic.edu.au (Ruth Orr) — Fri, 19 Feb 2021 02:17:25 GMT

This year the Year 1 and 2 classes have been combined to create two lower Primary composite classes. Lower Primary Aqua is being taught by Evette Walter and Bianca Francica. Lower Primary Blue is being taught by Kirsty Johnson.
During Term 1 both classes will be using the book ‘Are we there yet?’ as a lens and the students will take a virtual trip around Australia visiting and exploring significant places along the way.
Students will be provided with everyday scenarios which incorporate maths including having spending money to shop at Mindil beach, paying for petrol, reading clocks and timetables in Sydney and using money wisely. Students will complete a digital travel journal and learn letter writing through making postcards. They will also consider the importance of places to people in their community and people from different cultures. Both classrooms feature a tree and campfire, with the Lower Primary B room even having a caravan for our happy campers!

VCAL: Painting Project

ROrr@balcc.vic.edu.au (Ruth Orr) — Fri, 19 Feb 2021 01:50:29 GMT

The start of the new year has meant a refresh for the VCAL classroom with some of the existing furniture to be painted. The VCAL students spent today dismantling the furniture to sand and prepare for painting. This project is an opportunity to upskill students and expand their capabilities. We look forward to seeing the end results.

Cert II in Building & Construction: Cubby Project

ROrr@balcc.vic.edu.au (Ruth Orr) — Fri, 19 Feb 2021 01:39:55 GMT

Our Certificate II in Building and Construction students have started the year by continuing on with the construction and painting of two cubby houses that they commenced in 2020. Watch this space to see the completed cubby houses and the exciting plans for their future use.

Yr9/10 LOTE: Cooking Crepes

ROrr@balcc.vic.edu.au (Ruth Orr) — Fri, 19 Feb 2021 01:26:04 GMT

La Fête de la Chandeleur (Candlemas) is a French tradition that is always celebrated on February 2. This is because it occurs exactly 40 days after Christmas and remembers when Mary and Joseph presented Jesus at the temple. In later years, people would bring candles to church to remember the event (les chandelles).
The Year 9/10 French class enjoyed learning about this French tradition and then making crêpes.
One of the students remarked on the link between these words and the word ‘chandelier’ that we use in English.
French people make crepes. It is also said that the round yellow crepe resembles le soleil (the sun) and people are glad that le soleil commence a arriver et la fin de l’hiver arrive (the sun is coming and the end of winter begins). Bon Appétit!

VCE Excellence Award

ROrr@balcc.vic.edu.au (Ruth Orr) — Fri, 19 Feb 2021 00:58:50 GMT

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On Thursday we held our annual VCE Excellence Assembly to honour those VCE students who demonstrated the value of excellence in their studies, and to encourage future students to follow their example.
Congratulations to Charleigh Hocking and Esther McKee from the 2020 Year 12 cohort on receiving awards.
Charleigh received an award for having a Study score of 44 for Sociology and the College Dux award for attaining the highest ATAR score above 90.0. Charleigh has an accepted an offer at RMIT to study a Bachelor of Criminology & Psychology. Esther received the 2020 Year 12 Excellence award. Esther has accepted an offer from Monash University to study a Bachelor of Education (honours) in Primary and Secondary inclusive education.

Primary SRC Badging

ROrr@balcc.vic.edu.au (Ruth Orr) — Fri, 19 Feb 2021 00:58:47 GMT

This week the Primary students voted for their classroom SRC representative. With the return to face-to-face teaching on Thursday we were able to hold the annual badging ceremony.

The Primary Student Representative Council (SRC) provides a student voice into the decision-making process at
the College. It also provides students from Years 3-6 an opportunity to democratically elect student leaders from
amongst their cohort to represent them on the Primary SRC. Student leaders, including all students in the senior
year level, have the opportunity to participate in a student leadership incursion or excursion.

The Primary SRC representatives for 2021 are:

Year 3
Captains: Ava & Marcus
Vice Captains: Tori & Baxter

Year 4
Captains: Alex & Oliver
Vice Captains: Violet & Duke

Year 5
Captains: Izabella & Ethan
Vice Captains: Evelyn & Isaac

Year 6
Captains: Alice & William S
Vice Captains: Emily & Jordy

New Staff Welcome

ROrr@balcc.vic.edu.au (Ruth Orr) — Fri, 19 Feb 2021 00:27:33 GMT

WELCOME TO BALCC: Russell Barter: Mr Barter recently served as a Director on the College Board and is now assuming a part-time role teaching HASS to Year 10 and one of the two Year 9 classes. Mr Barter served for many years as the Farm Manager at Christian College’s farm at Scotsburn and is very keen to use his experience teaching groups of Year 9 students in that context to the benefit of students at our College.

Improvements: Campus Pathways & Creek

ROrr@balcc.vic.edu.au (Ruth Orr) — Fri, 19 Feb 2021 00:21:13 GMT

Over the Summer break and the first few weeks of term, work has continued on the upgrading of the pathways around campus. A number of stone pathways have been replaced with concrete pathways, allowing for students and staff to move around campus more easily. Upgrade works have also commenced on the creek area and the adjoining vegetable garden area.

Year 7A: Performing Arts Elements of Drama

ROrr@balcc.vic.edu.au (Ruth Orr) — Fri, 12 Feb 2021 01:30:19 GMT

This week the Year 7A students learnt about the elements of drama, using whole class drama games, that will prepare students for an in-class performance in Week 6. In this lesson the students learnt about voice, movement, time and space.

Year 7B: Learning in Science

ROrr@balcc.vic.edu.au (Ruth Orr) — Fri, 12 Feb 2021 01:11:33 GMT

Yesterday our Year 7B students had an introduction to Bunsen burners as part of their Science class. The students learnt some basic knowledge about the use of the burners.

Year 4 Maths & New Staff Welcome

ROrr@balcc.vic.edu.au (Ruth Orr) — Fri, 12 Feb 2021 00:47:44 GMT

WELCOME TO BALCC: Shellie Peters. Mrs Peters joins our Primary teaching staff in a part-time role in the Year 4 classroom, alongside Mrs Brown. Mrs Peters’ most recent role before coming to Ballarat Christian College was at Rokewood Primary School, where she worked as a classroom teacher and for a period as Acting Principal.

Year 5: Parabolic Oven Experiment

ROrr@balcc.vic.edu.au (Ruth Orr) — Thu, 11 Feb 2021 23:37:00 GMT

This week our Year 5 students designed and built parabolic ovens. Parabolic ovens use a parabolic-shaped reflector to direct sunlight to a small area in order to generate heat for cooking. The Year 5s placed marshmellows in their cookers to see if they would melt. The experiment was part of the Year 5s research into the sun and how it heats and creates energy, and was part of their Science space unit.

Around BalCC

ROrr@balcc.vic.edu.au (Ruth Orr) — Thu, 11 Feb 2021 04:19:47 GMT

Our students were making the most of Wednesday’s burst of warmer weather and were busy at lunchtime with some outdoor activities. Our five hectare campus offers a variety of creative play opportunities for students, as well as a main playing field, oval, cricket pitch, hard court and basketball courts. Various lawn and green areas provide comfortable and safe passive areas for the enjoyment of students.

Volunteering @ BalCC

ROrr@balcc.vic.edu.au (Ruth Orr) — Thu, 11 Feb 2021 02:50:32 GMT

During the back to school process we had an amazing response from parents wanting to be part of the valuable group of volunteers here at the College. With 2020 behind us we are hoping to have many more opportunities for parents and carers to be part of our Volunteer Team. If you would like to be a volunteer at the College please refer to the email sent out today, 11 February for more information, or pick up an information pack from the College Administration Office. Thank you to all parents and carers in advance for your contribution to our College life.

LOTE French: Celebrating the Festival of the Kings

ROrr@balcc.vic.edu.au (Ruth Orr) — Thu, 11 Feb 2021 02:45:43 GMT

Each month in the LOTE room Madame Weightman is dressing a mannequin in a costume to celebrate an aspect of French life and culture.
For the month of January it is ‘Janvier – la fête des rois’ (the festival of the kings). This is held on January 6 and stems from the Epiphany, when the wisemen (or kings) brought gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh to Jesus.
French people buy or make a galette des rois. Inside the galette you place a fève. The person who finds it in their slice is crowned king or queen, and they can wear the gold crown and have special privileges for the day.
The French president is not allowed to participate so a galette without a fève is served at the Elysée Palace.

Year 5 Performing Arts & New Staff Welcome

ROrr@balcc.vic.edu.au (Ruth Orr) — Thu, 11 Feb 2021 02:40:45 GMT

WELCOME TO BALCC: Brian Hamilton. Mr Hamilton taught as a CRT at our College during 2020 and is now assuming a part-time role teaching Performing Arts in the upper Primary and lower Secondary years. Mr Hamilton taught at Waverley Christian College and more recently Northside Christian College in Melbourne. He is also currently working with ‘Ballarat Christians at Uni’ at both Federation University and ACU’s Ballarat campuses.
In the Year 5 Performing Arts class Mr Hamilton has been teaching the students about melody and rhythm using singing and body percussion.

Year 11 Physics Experiment & New Staff Welcome

ROrr@balcc.vic.edu.au (Ruth Orr) — Thu, 11 Feb 2021 02:40:42 GMT

WELCOME TO BALCC: Alan Baldry. Mr Baldry will be teaching both of our VCE Physics classes in 2021 and will also be covering some of Mrs Tauelangi’s classes during February. Mr Baldry taught at Lighthouse Christian College for many years. Today the Year 11 Physics students worked with Mr Baldry on a latent heat of fusion experiment.

Primary Chapel Returns

ROrr@balcc.vic.edu.au (Ruth Orr) — Thu, 11 Feb 2021 02:40:33 GMT

This week welcomed back the in person Primary Chapels. The Primary students were excited to be able to join together again for Chapel. A big thank you to our Primary School Chapel Coordinator, Melissa O’Hara for the all the work she put in during 2020 to produce videos for online Chapel.

Welcome Back Years 1-6

ROrr@balcc.vic.edu.au (Ruth Orr) — Fri, 05 Feb 2021 00:19:49 GMT

The sunshine welcomed our Years 1-6 students back on Wednesday. Their arrival sees all our students now back on campus. The Prep students will have each Wednesday off for the whole of February.

Welcome Back Prep & Years 7-12

ROrr@balcc.vic.edu.au (Ruth Orr) — Fri, 05 Feb 2021 00:19:47 GMT

We were excited on Monday to welcome back our Prep and Years 7-12 students for their first day of Term 1. Our Year 12 students welcomed our Prep students and to know them before taking them on a tour of the College.

2020 BalCC Yearbook

ROrr@balcc.vic.edu.au (Ruth Orr) — Fri, 05 Feb 2021 00:19:39 GMT

The 2020 BalCC Yearbook has now been distributed and we hope you’ve been enjoying reading the write ups and viewing the photos . It is a huge collaborative effort to create a Yearbook, and as such we thank everyone who has contributed to the 2020 Yearbook for their time and efforts.

Year 10 HASS Ships Program

ROrr@balcc.vic.edu.au (Ruth Orr) — Fri, 05 Feb 2021 00:19:34 GMT

Our Year 10 Humanities and Social Sciences (HASS) students have started the year off by presenting vegetables grown at BalCC to the Ballarat Salvation Army food program.
The students have started learning how to germinate seeds, propagate, cultivate, tend and harvest plants. As part of the Civics component of their HASS studies the students will be learning about being good citizens and about regular giving. This is all part of the HASS Ships 10 program which will teach them about discipleship, stewardship and citizenship.

Homework Club: Secondary & Year 6

ROrr@balcc.vic.edu.au (Ruth Orr) — Fri, 05 Feb 2021 00:19:24 GMT

The after school Homework club will commence on Wednesday 10 February for Secondary and Year 6 students.
This is a service offered at no extra charge to parents. Homework Club offers Secondary students the chance to get some extra help or just get some homework done straight after school.
This year the program will continue to be run by Mr Preston, Mrs Kemp and Mrs Coventry and other teachers as they are available. The venue will be the Science Lab (S1) and the program will run from 3:30 until 4:30pm every Wednesday unless otherwise notified.
Attendance at this program is optional, but if your child would like to take advantage of Homework Club, even just on a casual basis, we would love to see him or her there. For further information on how to register, please refer to the email sent to Secondary and Year 6 parents on February 3 or refer to Parent Lounge.
If you have any questions about Homework club, please ask your child’s Homeroom Teacher.

Year 1/2 Maths Fun With Unifix Blocks

ROrr@balcc.vic.edu.au (Ruth Orr) — Fri, 05 Feb 2021 00:15:48 GMT

On Thursday in Maths the Year 1/ 2 Lower Primary Aqua students enjoyed some relaxing Maths games and created their own challenge. The students decided that they would like to put together all the Unifix blocks in the classroom and see how long the line would be. Then they tried to guess how many blocks they had used. Mrs Francica suggested putting together a line of 10 blocks and using that line to measure by skip counting along the longer line. We counted 90 tens (900) and 35 more made 935 Unifix blocks altogether. The students also enjoyed playing the ‘Place Value’ game with Mrs Lewis.

BalCC Staff First Aid & Anaphylaxis Training

ROrr@balcc.vic.edu.au (Ruth Orr) — Fri, 05 Feb 2021 00:04:45 GMT

As part of their start of year professional development days, our staff took part in first aid and anaphylaxis training. Thank you to First Aid Training Group (Ballarat) for providing the training and skills for life.

ALUMNI NEWS: Yual Reath wins at Victorian Country Championships

ROrr@balcc.vic.edu.au (Ruth Orr) — Thu, 04 Feb 2021 23:41:46 GMT

ALUMNI NEWS: Congratulations to Yual Reath (Class of 2019) on winning the Men’s High Jump at the 2021 Victorian Country Championships last weekend. Coached by Paul Cleary of Ballarat who said “The most exciting part about this performance is that Yual only trains twice a week ….he’s just pure natural talent.”
On completing Year 12 Yual secured an apprenticeship as a Landscaper. While at BalCC Yual was a Vice College Captain and received a number of awards and set records for high jump. We look forward to hearing more of Yual’s sporting achievements and wish him well.