GCC has talent

The Night of Talent certainly lived up to its name last Thursday. There was a wonderful array of performances that made for a very entertaining night. Performances ranged from classical pieces to hard rock and everything in between. There were also dances, gymnastics and drama pieces.

Congratulations to Maddie Roulston who won the 75 dollar prize for to the Years 9-14, to Jasmin Hazelden who took out the 50 dollar prize for Prep to Year 2 and to Erin Holland who won the 100 dollar prize for the Open Category.

Hats off to everyone who participated in the show. It was an incredibly close contest. The whole show was run by the Middle and Senior Student Voice and they did a tremendous job organising the event. This is our first TNT and I am sure it will be a highlight on the College Calendar for many years to come.

Middle School Experience

Last Friday we held our Middle School Experience and it was the best one yet. Of the 78 students attending, 23 were new to GCC.

Although the purpose of the event was to explain how things work in Middle School and tour the campus, I’m sure there would have just been one question on new students’ minds; “Will I be accepted and make friends at GCC?”

I was so proud of our students when I heard how they went out of their way to welcome and talk to students from other schools, immediately putting them at ease. I was also very impressed with the student tour leaders. They did an excellent job taking care of the groups and showing students around the campus. Well done leaders!

Mock interviews

Mock interviews were held with our Year 10 students on Wednesday and I was very pleased with how well the students performed. Due to a prior commitment I was only able to interview two students but others staff members who shared this task reported on how professional the students were and how they handled difficult questions. The students had obviously spent considerable time preparing for the interviews but what stood out was their confidence, poise and the manner in which they conducted themselves.

Thanks to Paul Nash and Mel Parker in the Future Pathways Department who organised the interviews and helped prepare the students for this important life-skill.

Sports Awards Night

Even though the Sports Awards Night will be finished by the time you read this, the newsletter deadline means that all the details will have to wait for the next edition of The Eagle. However, we will have photos from the night uploaded to our Facebook page and website by the end of the week so you can look at them when you read this newsletter.

I am looking forward to celebrating our students’ achievements and hearing Duncan Armstrong as the guest speaker.

Starting dates for 2016

It seems a long way off when there is so much of Term 4 left but some families are asking about start back dates for Term 1 in 2016. We have a staggered start to the year, mainly due to Australia Day falling on Tuesday 26 January, 2016. All the dates are on the home page of our website and also listed below:

Monday 25 January – Year 7 only
Tuesday 26 January – Australia Day public holiday
Wednesday 27 January – Prep to Year 10
Thursday 28 January – Year 11 and 12s

Halloween

This event is a cultural norm in the USA but seems to be getting bigger in Australia every year. 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 where 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.

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 do not allow your children to bring any Halloween related items to school.

Parenting Tip 9 – Don’t do everything for your child

Sometimes it’s faster to do things yourself than wait for your children to complete a task. At this time of the year when everyone is busy, the temptation is even greater. Your child may feel under extra pressure with homework, assignments and end of year activities and as a parent, you want to do everything you can to help.

However, when you take over by doing things for your children that they should be doing themselves, you take away their empowerment and rob them of the opportunity to persevere through difficulties.

Children learn that they can’t do it themselves and the first thing to suffer is their self-esteem, followed closely by their confidence.

Empower your children to think and be responsible for themselves. Don’t take over but help them plan their schedules, breaking down large projects and tasks into more manageable portions. Be on hand to provide a listening ear or an encouraging word.  Your children will grow into strong, confident adults who know how to persevere and overcome challenges.

Mike Curtis, Principal