HEAD OF SCHOOL UPDATE Jonathan Brayshaw
Dear Parents and Carers,
On Monday, our College community paused in solemn gratitude during the Secondary Assembly, to honour the brave men and women whose courage and dedication have paved the way for the peace and freedoms we enjoy today. Our College Captains, Alysha Crawford and Toby Tiongson, and Primary Captains, Abigail Pogobo and Samual Huang, attended the Remembrance Day Service held at the War Memorial in front of Riverstone Railway Station. They laid a wreath on behalf of our College, symbolising our respect and recognition of those who have served this country. This was a meaningful occasion for our student leaders.
Over the past few weeks, our students have been actively involved in supporting Operation Christmas Child, a project run by Samaritan’s Purse. Their mission is to share God’s love in a tangible way to children in need around the world, and together with the local church worldwide, to share the Good News of Jesus Christ.
Our homerooms have been generously filling shoeboxes with toys, hygiene items, school supplies and fun gifts. On Wednesday 13 November, sixty Year 9 students who volunteered to be part of the Operation Christmas Child Team engaged in a meaningful community service day, helping to organise and pack these shoeboxes at the processing warehouse in Norwest. In Week 6, Year 10 students will also have the opportunity to serve, providing assistance to Samaritan’s Purse at the warehouse.
Additionally, on Friday 8 November, students participated in our Christmas Shirt Day Fundraiser. Students wore their favourite Christmas shirt or sweater, and contributed a monetary donation that will directly support Samaritan’s Purse. These proceeds will help cover the costs of transporting the filled shoeboxes to overseas communities and villages, where they will be given to children in need.
Thank you for your continued support as we work together in helping each child grow and succeed in whatever God wants them to do.
NSW SCHOOLS CONSTITUTIONAL CONVENTION Tamara Kunz
Last week one of our Year 11 Legal Studies students, Nehmat Gill, was selected to attend the NSW Schools Constitutional Convention 2024. This event brought together 95 students from across NSW to engage in discussion regarding the Constitution and law reform, around the topic of 'limits on freedom of political expression'. The convention sought to promote understanding and informed discussion amongst young Australians about the Constitution and system of government. Students were welcomed by the President of the Legislative Council, Ben Franklin, and heard a keynote address from Professor Emerita Anne Twomey of University of Sydney, an expert in constitutional law. They engaged in small group discussions with parliamentary experts and conducted a plebiscite and presentation of their collective views. This was a fantastic experience for Nehmat to meet other like-minded students across the state and broaden her understanding of the Australian legal system.
Reflection - Nehmat Gill
To have the privilege to attend such a prestigious event as that of the NSW Constitutional Convention was a huge opportunity to learn and contribute to issues of current politics. The event introduced the forthcoming youth to the issues that arise in Australian, specifically New South Wales politics and the strategies and measures that are being put in place to overcome them. To be in an environment full of students with such strong and unique opinions opened a new scope of possibilities of what the future of politics could look like, and I must say it looks quite hopeful. I had the privilege of meeting many important and impactful people such as Professor Anne Twomey and Ben Franklin, and to listen to their views was one of the best experiences I could have wished for.
JAPANESE INCURSIONS Narae Son
Tuesday 12 November was an exciting day for the Languages Faculty at Australian Christian College!
If you were near the Technology Hub during Period 3, you would have felt the ground shaking with the exciting beat of Taiko drums. This rhythm was not just created by the Taikoz Team, who performed breathtaking pieces of music for us, but some of our very own Year 8 students who showcased their musical talents by joining the team in some improvisations!
If you joined us for lunch on the same day, the smell of scrumptious bento boxes would have drawn you to our Year 8 and Elective Japanese class students who sat in the sun, enjoying the beautiful flavours of Japanese cuisine.
If you happened to be near the MPC in Period 4, you may have wondered what the exhilarating shouts and chants were all about. Well, this was our Stage 5 Elective Japanese class who took part in an undoukai - a Japanese sports day. Sports day in Japan isn’t just about athletics, but more about team spirit as you engage in rather unusual games such as the Big Ball Roll, Birds Nest, Eye of the Storm, just to name a few. Are they fun, you ask? Just have a look at the faces of our Year 9 students!
It is always such a privilege to be able to share the beautiful culture of Japan with the students of Australian Christian College. Being able to experience this first hand made the Japanese Culture Day 2024 such a meaningful and memorable day. Arigatou gozaimasu, minsan - thank you so much everyone.
MARKET DAY 2024 Samuel Dethan
Market Day 2024 provided our Year 9 and 10 Money Matters students the opportunity to demonstrate their business acumen and raise valuable funds for the Samaritan’s Purse Operation Christmas Child initiative. Students formed 18 different businesses with the intention of serving the entirety of Secondary School various food options such as pizza, acai, samosa, cold confectionery and baked goods. Thanks to the servant-hearted nature of all involved, the event ran smoothly and had a fantastic community atmosphere. Market Day proved to be a highly valuable and practical learning experience for those running their own market stalls and an even more invaluable contribution to an important charitable cause.
Have a look at these student responses below!
Abhilash Y & Prayush M - We ran the 6 Brother's Chaat House which specialised in Indian snacks and sweets. With six members in our group, and a well established knowledge on the foods and drinks we were serving, we did a great job pulling off our market day stall. Our team was well organised whether it was in planning, preparation, or serving. The process was fun and we feel very grateful for this innovative opportunity that was given to us. Throughout this journey, we further polished our skills in teamwork, money management, and resourcefulness. Overall, we really appreciate this chance at running a stall and understanding the in's and out's of a business (even if it is on a small scale) and it allowed us to develop a deeper interest in the many aspects that are part of the commerce subject.
Josh Pelham - Market day was a new and exciting experience incorporated into the Money Matters syllabus. There are many aspects of the market day unit that were very enjoyable. These aspects include: planning the stall and what you are going to sell, planning all the expenses and distributing what everyone’s jobs are, working as a team to create the best-selling stall and of course on the day selling, preparing and meeting new people throughout the lunch break. Market day was a fun, entertaining and interesting element of the Money Matters subject.
Meagan Pratt & Shanyni Reifler - For Market Day, we ran the stall Whisk & Whimsy, a stall selling baked goods and tokens for our lucky dip. In class, we were required to plan out everything to do with our stall including, advertising, store layout, products, food safety, and finances. For advertising our stall we created two cat mascots to promote our stall; Whisk & Whimsy. On Market Day, it was our responsibility to set up the stalls before the start of lunch and ensure that we were ready to serve people quickly and efficiently when they visited our stall. Although it started off quiet during lunch on the day, we ended up selling out during the second half resulting in us receiving a massive profit which was donated to Operation Christmas Child to help ship the shoe boxes to various locations, spreading The Gospel.
Talia Musico - Market Day was both an exciting and unique day. It certainly tested us on our ability to deal with problems and how to deal with the pressure. Our store, Açai Haven, went through a few ups and downs. Some of these included having to adapt to the weather and other problems that may have occurred. Market day's aim is for all profits to go towards charity, the charity we were supporting this year was Operation Christmas Child, a project of Samaritan's Purse which provides the less fortunate with gifts of school supplies, hygiene products along with many fun toys. We enjoyed Market Day and making açai for students and teachers. This experience was definitely considered a memorable experience.
Aksa Abraham - Market day was definitely an enjoyable experience for the students running the stalls and the students buying items for them. It was amazing to see how weeks of work of preparing, shopping, planning and cooking paid off so well. We are extremely satisfied with the response of the students to the stalls and how everyone got around and supported each other. We are proud to have raised money for Operation Christmas Child and hope our efforts will impact them positively. Extremely grateful for all I've learnt in this topic and the opportunity to partake in this event.
AWS GIRLS' TECH DAY EXCURSION Saloom Aslam
On Wednesday some of our female students from Years 7-9 had an incredible experience at Amazon Web Services (AWS) Girls' Tech Day in Blacktown Leisure Centre. A hands-on event designed to ignite interest in Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics (STEAM). Students had an opportunity to engage in interactive workshops, explore new technologies, and connect with inspiring women in tech. Some students participated in the panel discussion by asking thought provoking questions. This experience has hopefully encouraged our female students to envision future STEAM careers, fostering both confidence and curiosity. We as a science department are thrilled to support our students on this exciting journey!
ANGLICARE ‘BEYOND THE WALLS’ EXPERIENCE Brad Adams
Next week, our Year 10 students will be going to a variety of charity organisations to take part in service activities. Some students will be performing in Aged Care centres, some will be attending the Samaritan’s Purse Warehouse to check and pack shoes boxes for the Operation Christmas Child Project, others will be touring and helping at Anglicare’s Op Shop warehouse, while others pack hampers for Carevan (an organisation working in Blacktown and Hills area) to be delivered before Christmas.
In the lead up to this Service Week, the Year 10 students took part in a ‘Beyond the Wall’ experience. This was led by a team from Anglicare’s ‘Take Love’ service, a branch of Anglicare aimed at equipping and encouraging young people to serve in their communities.
Students participated in simulation activities where they were able to gain an insight into the lives of people struggling with poverty and related issues. Students followed the choices of one of three characters, making decisions for them at different moments and seeing the consequences of these choices. This helped in understanding the tough decisions some people have to make due to their circumstances.
Student levels of engagement were very high throughout the activity and debrief at the end. The students found the experience powerful and eye opening. Giving them an opening into the lives of some people in our community, the struggles they go through and the help organisations offer them.
As the students serve in a variety of contexts next week, we hope that they may have a more empathetic and understanding approach in what they do and whom they are serving.
Some of the brief reflections from students at the end of the activity were;
"I think that it was a really harsh position and the fact that most choices were so difficult was a hard pill to swallow."
"The character's life was complex and she had to make some impossible decisions about food, shelter and circumstances when it came to her kids."
"I thought that it was tough that they even had to make those decisions and that they deserve to live a better life for all the things they're going through."
YEAR 10 PEER SUPPORT TRAINING – PREPARING FUTURE LEADERS FOR YEAR 7 ORIENTATION Tiarne Tranter
On 14 & 15 November, our Year 10 students participated in an impactful Peer Support Training program. This two-day training was designed to equip them with essential leadership skills as they prepare to guide Year 7 students during their upcoming Orientation Day on 18 November, as well as Primary classes throughout the day.
The sessions covered a range of activities focused on communication, decision-making, and empathy—key skills for building connections and fostering supportive environments. Students engaged in hands-on activities like role-playing, group discussions, and real-life scenarios that helped them understand the importance of effective leadership, active listening, and collaboration.
By the end of the training, students were not only prepared to lead orientation activities but also gained valuable insights into building meaningful relationships. Their newfound skills and confidence will help make a lasting impact on our Year 7 students, making their transition into Secondary school a welcoming experience.
We are proud of the commitment shown by our Year 10 students and look forward to seeing their leadership in action.
