We have had a great start to the term and have enjoyed a wonderful Primary Swimming Carnival, a spectacular display of dance with the Primary Dance troupe performing a number of outstanding routines at the College Dance night, an author visit and excellent support for Operation Christmas Child. There was a tower of boxes in the Library ready for transportation, so thank you for your generosity.

Children are working well and over the last two weeks, students in the Primary school completed our yearly ACER testing in Mathematics, Reading Comprehension, Spelling and General Abilities. These are external standardised tests that provide us with information regarding students’ growth in learning as well as diagnostic data for the following school year. 

Holidays during the school term

As we draw close to the end of the year, this is the time when many final Semester 2 assessments are being completed for the reporting cycle. Taking students on holiday during term time is strongly discouraged, especially during assessment and reporting periods. However, please be reminded that in terms of our Student Attendance Policy, that if a student is going to be away on vacation during term time, you email me and let the class teacher know. 

Thank you for partnering with us to ensure that punctual and regular attendance at school is a priority for all our Primary children.

Halloween

Halloween is coming up at the end of this month. It is something we don’t celebrate at GCC and we actively discourage it. 

Halloween is largely an American event but it has gained some traction in Australia due to the dominance of American shows on television and the endless quest to find another angle to advertise a product. As a Christian school, we do not celebrate Halloween and I thought I would take this opportunity to let you know why we don’t allow Halloween traditions.

To many, Halloween is just a time to dress up but the tradition has dark roots. It goes back to the Druid new year when the beginning of darkness (symbolically and literally i.e. UK winter) was celebrated. It was believed to be a time when the gates of hell were opened and is still a key festival for modern pagans today. The carry-over is seen in the dressing up as witches, ghosts etc. and some groups use the evening for specific anti-God purposes.

All this to one side – as a Christian school, we want to celebrate God’s power and the wonderful victory Jesus won over death and evil. We believe spiritual evil exists and is very real but God is more powerful than evil. We don’t want to celebrate an event that has such an emphasis on death, darkness and fear when Jesus Christ gives life, faith, light and hope.

Furthermore, the practice of going to people’s homes and demanding lollies and chocolates in exchange for not being a nuisance-as summarised by the familiar “Trick or treat” is contrary to any of the school values we are trying to promote in your children. 

I know it is difficult to go against the prevailing culture – especially when the event is often seen as harmless fun but the reality is that Halloween does touch on concerning spiritual themes. 

Please remind your children about the school’s stance on Halloween and be reminded that children should not bring any Halloween-related items to school. We will not be having any Halloween-themed activities in classes.

School Uniform

Although this can be a tricky time of the year when children grow out of things and shoes seem to fall apart, not quite making it to the end of the term, children are required to wear the correct school uniform. We will be completing our uniform inspection next week. You will be contacted if assistance is needed to address uniform issues. Children who continue to wear the incorrect uniform will be receiving a workstation. Please remind your child/children that they are required to have a school hat every day. Please refer to the College website should you require clarification regarding uniforms.

Other important dates coming up:

Day for Daniel Friday 28 October
Year 3 Strings Concert – Thursday 10 November
Primary Awards Monday 21 November
Orientation Tuesday 22 November
Year 5 Band Concert Wednesday 23 November
Year 3 – 6 Christmas Concert Thursday 24 November
Prep – Year 2 Christmas Concert Friday 25 November
Last day of Prep is Friday 25 November

Have a great week and thank you for your continued support in what is going to be a very busy term.

Gail Mitchell – Head of Primary