“Music has added so much to my life. I encourage you all to keep going!”

Such wise words from world famous jazz musician, Mr Don Burrows, who was our special guest at the GO Sing! GO Play! music performances last week.

Over the past few weeks, budding vocalists and instrumentalists from Kindergarten to Year 6 have been busy practising and auditioning for the inaugural GO Sing! GO Play! event. Last week it culminated in the main event - performances from the finalists.

Congratulations to all our very brave finalists who gave magnificent performances in front of our Primary students, their families and friends, the judges and residents from Terrey Hills Nursing Home.

In addition to being inspired by the musical talent we saw, the Primary students also raised an impressive $469 for our GO (Global Opportunities) programs! Thank you for your generosity and support.

Congratulations to our finalists and major winners (pictured above right with Mr Don Burrows).

Finalists:
Justin Borg, Lucy Clark, Michaela Sui, Eva Schaffler, Sarah Palangio, Oliver Leigh, Alexandra Sui, Hugh Larsen, Amy McGee, Holly Preston and Aidan Johnston

Winners:
Junior Instrumentalist: Lucy Clark (violin)
Senior Instrumentalist: Hugh Larsen (drums)
Junior Vocalist: Sarah Palangio
Senior Vocalist: Aidan Johnston

Stay tuned for next term’s Creative Arts celebration: GO Speak!

Natalie Wade
1/2W Teacher

At the end of Week 8, the Year 3 Chameleons organised and ran CIA for Stage 2 and Stage 3. The students organised, chose and wrote scripts for each aspect of the assembly via Edmodo. As a group, they agreed to run the CIA based on the question, ‘Where is your focus?’

“I liked doing the assembly because I liked choosing the song, the Bible verse and performing. It was also fun singing and dancing and getting more confident at school. I liked it when Miss Chantelle told the story and everyone saw the drawings we had done.”
– Indiana Cross

We shared a story about a man who was stealing wheelbarrows. It was all about keeping your eyes on God's big picture instead of getting lost in the small things which can distract you.

Here are a few of our illustrations.

“I found it interesting and cool to be up in front of everyone doing the announcements!”
– Sebastien Pettitt

The Year 3 Chameleons hope that you are able to keep your eyes on God's big picture.

Chantelle Morrison
3C Teacher
Stage 2 Learning Leader

Throughout this term, all students from K-6 have been learning about the music and culture from Elcho Island (North East Arnhem Land), through the Musica Viva program. On Friday 21 March, students observed and participated in a live performance at school. During this performance, the visiting group with members from the Datiwuy clan in Elcho Island, along with students from NAISDA Dance Company, performed dances and songs that our students had learnt about in class.

“A highlight was when the ladies did the dingo dance. I found the dingo dance interesting because of the way they howled and how the ladies and the men dance differently. When they did the dances around the fire it showed me that everybody has a different tradition. Musica Viva was very fun and encouraging.”
– Alexandra Bragg, Year 5

“The Musica Viva performance rocked the house! I really liked the fire dance because it had very subtle moves. The person who was playing yidaki was very talented – it was one of my highlights of the performance. I also liked the little fish song which was about a fish someone caught and they found another little fish inside with one eye.”
– Owen Taylor, Year 5

Amanda Hill
Creative Arts

There is so much deep learning that takes place on camps. The learning is very different to that seen in the school environment. However, there is a richness which can only be experienced on such adventures.

While the purposes and outcomes are numerous and all valuable, the two elements that always stand out for me are: personal growth via challenges encountered and the development and nurturing of deep connections and relationships. The outdoor classroom nurtures rich learning and exploration. It provides a backdrop of new frontiers gently beckoning the onlooker to enter. Our Year 5 students came with hearts, minds and hands open. They left their Crusader leaders with wonderful memories. “Northern Beaches Christian School students are known to Summit as great kids. We always know it’s going to be a wonderful camp.” – Ali, Camp Director 2014

Year 5 Student Camp Quotes:

“I loved cooking a meal and camping out with my mates!”

“I loved camp, we were able to have fun with our friends and do things we loved. My highlights were riding the BMX bikes, rock-climbing, and playing soccer with all my friends. “

“The night time games in the gym were so much fun.”

“The leaders were awesome and friendly and I had lots of fun broadening my friendship groups.”

Imma Buono
Stage 3 Manager

The 2 Day class has been investigating plants. We have planted seeds in the garden, in a glass tank and in bags taped to the window. We are curious to see what is happening above and below the soil. To further explore how plants work we added blue dye to a vase of white carnations and asked the children to share what they saw, what they thought and what they wondered. Here are some of our 3 and 4 year old responses: 

“I think it will grow up to the sun.”
“I think they died because they changed to blue.”
“The flowers sucked up the water. I wonder why the flowers are dead?”
“It's because they are upside down.”
“I think it needs to go the other way so the flowers can drink.”
“I wonder if you put soap in it will turn back to white?”

Ruth Pugh & Beth Manefield
2 Day Group

It has been great to see the children settle into the new 3 day routine of preschool. The Preschool children are developing and building their sense of belonging. Friendships are being re-established and new ones are forming with other children and teachers. The children have enjoyed using our wider school community such as visiting the school library, playing on the Primary play equipment, visiting the building site and oval. They have delighted in seeing their siblings pass by and say ‘hello’.

The children have been interested in construction with various types of blocks and how well they work together. They problem solve and contribute to group projects such as using the cardboard cut outs to build.

As we have considered the environment, we have talked about God, in particular who He is and what He has made. We enjoy singing, Our God is So Big and Jesus is the Mighty King.

We have amazing sculptures being built that involve problem solving skills and creativity. This has led to the use of recycled materials and group collaboration. The 3 Day Group is curious about construction and building as they use many items to express their ideas and thoughts. They also delight in their imaginative play, which might be dressing up, or playing home with the dolls and prams or as fire fighters extinguishing the fierce flames.

They have been enthusiastically reading the library books as well as the word cards on the outdoor felt hanging. They have enjoyed non-fiction books about our senses and the life cycle of a butterfly. The children have also been working with colour and experimenting to see what happens when two colours are mixed together. This assisted with expressing their ideas creatively. 

Gail Hughes & Paula Cameron
3 Day Group

It has been a busy few weeks of sport with many students involved in representative swimming, CIS trials for a few sports and the ongoing Friday PISA competition.
 

CIS Swimming
Congratulations to the following talented swimmers who represented NBCS at the CIS swimming carnival at Homebush on Wednesday 26 March.

• Liam Cobourn
• Max Dowling
• Noah Dowling
• William Elliott
• Benjamin Hutchison
• Samuel Johnson
• Alex Lefevre
• Jordan Lefevre
• Brianne Lowe
• Cayla Phillips
• Cooper Phillips
• Holly Saunders
• Charlotte Winston-Booth
• ​Benjamin Worthington

Special congratulations to our finalists and place getters.
The Girls Senior Freestyle Relay team, consisting of Brianne Low, Alex Lefevre, Charlotte Winston-booth and Jordan Lefevre, did extremely well, placing 5th overall at CIS level.

Holly Saunders came 2nd in 50m Freestyle, Breaststroke and Backstroke.
Cayla Phillips smashed her PB and placed 2nd in the 9yrs Girls 50m Freestyle.
Cooper Phillips made the final for all six of his individual events. This is a tremendous achievement to finish in the top 10 in all strokes including the 100m Freestyle and medley relay at CIS level.

CIS Softball
On Thursday 27th March six NBCS students trialled very well at CIS level - Lucinda Hill, Nina Paton, Annnabelle Walker, Charlotte Winston-Booth, Jordan Lefevre and Emily Moreton. Special congratulations to Charlotte and Nina who were selected into the CIS team (Pictured above wearing red numbered singlets).

AFL
Our NBCS Primary Year 5/6 Girls AFL team recently competed at Mamre College and won. They will now contest the Sydney North Regional Final on Monday, 26th May at Robertson Reserve, Centennial Park.

Primary Cross Country and Athletics Carnivals
We are looking forward to the NBCS Primary Cross Country Carnival on Tuesday, 8th April.

After the holidays the Athletics Carnival will take place on the first day back, Tuesday, 29th April. During the holidays, athletics clinics will be on offer and students are encouraged to take advantage of these opportunities to do some training leading up to Term 2.
All information can be found on PETE.

Karen Mitchell
Acting Head of Primary Sport

With the 2014 Snow Season fast approaching it is time to call for all budding Skiers and Snowboarders who would like to be part of the NBCS Ski and Snowboard Team and compete at the Northern NSW Interschools Championships.

School students from Kindergarten to Year 12 can compete, either as an individual or part of a team, in the Regional Championships to qualify for the NSW State Championships and/or Australian Championships.

Students from all ability levels are encouraged to enter. There is an emphasis on fun and participation in the initial Regional Championships. As the competitions move into the NSW State and Australian event, the level of competition and the degree of difficulty increases.

Dates: Wednesday 2 July to Saturday 5 July

For the full race schedule download the NSW Interschools Event Dates & Schedule.

The NBCS team will have a School Coordinator who is a parent volunteer but all parents are responsible for their own children for the duration of the Championships. Please note that NBCS will not be sending a staff member to supervise students.

Booking of accommodation and lift tickets is the responsibility of each individual family that attends.

If you would like more information please contact Tracy Dowling.

The Premier’s Reading Challenge (PRC) aims to encourage in students a love of reading and to enable students to experience quality literature. It is not a competition, but a challenge to each student to read, to read more and to read more widely. All students from Kindergarten to Year 6 are able to participate.

The Dreamtime and Narnia Libraries have a special display of Premier’s Reading Challenge books. During your child’s library time, they may borrow up to 2 PRC books, which are labelled accordingly. Don’t forget to make use of your local library too. The booklists, Challenge rules, frequently asked questions and helpful tips can be accessed via the PRC website.

Recording and validating your child’s reading experience in done online. Next week, your child will be given a username and password. The username and password will be pasted into your child’s Student Diary for easy reference. Student reading records can be entered online between April and August, at home or at a public library, using these usernames and passwords.

After your child has read the prescribed number of PRC books and entered them into their reading record online, it is most important that this is written in your child’s Student Diary. NBCS needs to validate your child’s record so they can receive an award.

Happy reading!

We are excited to offer the opportunity for our Year 6 students to purchase a special rugby style jersey as a memento of their Primary years at NBCS.

An email has been sent to all Year 6 families, with information on how to order a Year 6 jersey. If you have not already done so, please use the linked form to purchase a jersey for your child.

If you have any questions please email Leigh Hedstrom .