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Love Learning
News from Northern Beaches Christian School
Term 2, 2024
From the Principal
Learning + Character + Effort = Success. We want our students to have as many opportunities for their future as possible, and success at school is one way to achieve this.
Of course, we know that results are not the be all and the end all. The process and the outcome matter. The journey matters, as does the destination. The experience matters, as does the activity.
Our key focus at school is on learning, and that is as it should be. But we also focus on the development of character and the development of effort for all our students.
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Character is something that you can’t simply turn on. Likewise, effort. You have to build them both. It takes time and persistence to develop character, to become someone who is thoughtful, diligent, kind, considered and respectful. It takes time to become someone who knows what real effort looks like. While talent gets you in the room, character and effort keep you in it.
Over the past few years, we have been pleased to see some Year 12 students receive significant scholarships and achieve significant success in work placements and apprenticeships. Students have received these opportunities because of the way in which they made the most of their time at school, within and beyond the classroom. It is often the rich and full experience of school life coupled with strong results that leads to scholarship offers.
We don’t know what our students will end up doing, but we do know who they are becoming; young people of character and determination who can face the uncertainty of the future safe in the knowledge that as learners, they will be able to make sense of it.
Tim Watson
Principal
A week of adventure
Student Opportunity Week (SOW) offered all 900 Secondary students and teachers a week of opportunity and excitement as they participated in 17 different programs in Term 2. SOW is a unique week that replaces traditional school camps and allows students to dive right into something that interests them: from performing arts to high performance surfing; from hiking to horse riding.
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Organiser Stewart van Bentum is enthusiastic about the week and its benefits. “It’s so great for students,” he says. “They can either develop a passion they already have, or be introduced to something new – that may become a life-long passion.”
The week’s adventures took place around Sydney, in rural NSW, interstate and even overseas and included:
- the New Zealand STEM trip, featuring a few days at a Mission to Space camp;
- the High Performance Centre Surf training on the Gold Coast;
- a Reef at Risk educational adventure in Far North Queensland;
- an artist-in-training experience at Bundanon (NSW South Coast);
- ‘Coastal Explorer’ camping, water craft and hiking (NSW South Coast);
- a Duke of Edinburgh hike;
- Golf training and development and games in Canberra;
- Horse riding (NSW Central Coast);
- Mountain Biking training and development in Canberra;
- Performing Arts workshops and live shows;
- Scuba lessons and dives in Manly;
- ‘Soul and Sea’ experience showcasing stretching classes, water sports, city walks in Sydney;
- the ever-exciting ‘Urban Challenge’ around Sydney;
- Cooking and food technology classes (including eating!);
- Photography training and day excursions;
- Year 12 study retreat; and
- Year 7 camping adventure.
What the students said
Reef at Risk
“The best part was when we went out to the middle of the Great Barrier Reef. We took part in an Indigenous program where they shared some history on the water and the traditional owners, and we did some snorkelling which was so much fun.” Brianna L
High Performance Surf
Performing Arts
“Everyone who did this program is really into drama. We did a lot of everything. Devising scenes, realistic and physical acting, screen acting, singing in a choir and singing in a band as well as dance. We got to meet the cast for two shows at the stage door. They were so lovely and they inspired us to work harder and see that it was possible to have a career.” Lily M
Mountain Biking
“I’m reasonably new at mountain biking so there were definitely points that were challenging, but other things I was comfortable with. I’m now more confident. The days were different. We were always around the same area, but there were hundreds of different trails. Everyone just became good friends as the week went on. ” Josh L
Change for the better
When Abi Leeming first started at NBCS in Year 5, she didn’t expect to be elected Vice Captain of Primary the following year.
“It was a big surprise,” she said. “I would have thought it would have gone to someone who had been here for many years, but it didn’t happen that way.”
Abi’s name had been on the NBCS Year 7 waitlist for a while, but when her previous Primary school wasn’t feeling right for her, her parents said, “Why don’t you go in Year 5?”
The prospect of switching schools made Abi nervous, but also excited. “I knew I’d miss my friends, but I was excited to make new ones,” she said.
Being Vice Captain has seen Abi take on new responsibilities, including running assemblies, helping with tours, and welcoming guests to Grandparents and Special Friends Day.
Now, thinking about Year 7 doesn’t feel as daunting for Abi. She already knows some high school teachers, as well as the year group above, and she already has friends.
“I’m a bit nervous, but I’ll be prepared,” she says.
School Tours
School tours provide a great opportunity to view our world-class facilities, experience our unique learning environment, meet students and staff and ask any questions you may have about NBCS.
UPCOMING SCHOOL TOURS:
Explore Kindy Morning
Tuesday 25 June
Primary and Secondary School tours
Thursday 1 August
Thursday 29 August
Tuesday 17 September (twilight)
NBCS student a published author
Graduate Millie Piggott’s publishing dreams are coming true!
Millie’s short story, which she wrote for her English Extension 2 major work in 2023, was selected for the HSC Young Writers Showcase, published in an anthology, and launched at the Sydney Writers Festival in May.
“I am so proud and really happy about it. I genuinely did not expect this at all,” she said.
Millie’s story features 18-year-old Donna in a futuristic Sydney, divided in half by political ideologies.
Over the course of the year, Millie created 16 drafts and rewrote the story four times. “It was so painful. Every single time I’d finish a draft, I’d hand it in, hear, ‘this is great but …’ and then get feedback to change it.”
In 2024 Millie is studying English at university, and her hope is to eventually remake her story into a novel. “I’d love to continue with these characters,” she said.
Enrolments Update
PRIMARY
2025 and beyond
Applications welcome for all Primary year groups
Secondary
2025
Year 7 – Applications closed
2026
Year 7 – Applications limited. Please contact the Registrar.
2027 and beyond
Year 7 – Applications open
We may have limited vacancies in other year levels in addition to those noted above.
Contact Us
Northern Beaches Christian School
www.nbcs.nsw.edu.au/contact