College Principal's Address
A term of all sorts of growth!
As a dual Australian-British citizen of 16 years standing, I still communicate with the ‘olde country’ on a very regular basis, never failing to thank my lucky stars that virtually instant email communication has replaced what once was, when living in the USA from 1986-1993, a laborious process involving paper, pen, stamps, letterboxes and 7-10 days via Air Mail.
I often wondered how an aeroplane-based system could actually be so slow? Where did my letter go for 5 or 6 days on landing at Heathrow or Gatwick Airport before finally making it into the back of a bright red postal van, just like Postman Pat’s, and the intended mailbox?
One of my most recent communications was to apologise to my mum for once again forgetting that the UK has Mother’s Day in late March, significantly removed from Australia’s 11th May, for 2025. I am not inclined to invest even a few minutes on the Internet investigating why this difference exists, just as I cannot fathom why British monarchs have two birthdays, and to make matters worse, Australian states recognise their birthdays on different days, depending on whether you reside in WA, QLD or NSW?
Anyway, Sunday’s messaging back to the Southern Hemisphere included a famous old Northern Hemisphere weather adage,
‘March comes in like a lion and goes out like a lamb’.
Which refers to the UK’s typically blustery, unpredictable, lively early March, spring weather that is followed in less than 31 days’ time by the more gentle breezes and serene, fair skies of the end of the month.
Reflecting on Term 1 now it is almost at a close, I have to say that it both arrived, and is departing rather like that lion! Within two days of commencement, we hosted our Federal MP and Cabinet Minister for Regional Development who helped us commission the new College leaders; and next week, on the final day of Term 1, we are experimenting with two new concepts, a Primary School Easter Bonnet Parade and Service hosted by the lovely folk of St John’s Anglican Church, and a P and F fund-raising extravaganza, a Colour Run.
If you are hoping to be a part of the Easter celebrations at St John’s, please be sure to arrive in plenty of time and, appropriately for our wonderfully tight-knit community, be ready to squeeze in tight as the gorgeous old building will be packed to the rafters.
The leaders of the Anglican community in Bega are beyond thrilled that the Anglican College is prepared to share with them what has always been a wonderfully bright and joyous occasion, and preparations are well advanced. A police presence will keep bus parking spaces clear, and ABC Radio, the Bega District News and 2EC reporters are expected to be on hand to capture and communicate every aspect of the morning to a wider audience.
As for the Colour Run, with one very confident Pre-Kindergarten student claiming he will raise $10,000 in sponsorship simply to be assured of the privilege of pouring a large bucketful of green and purple ‘slime’ all over me, I have an uneasy feeling we might be adding another annual event into the College’s long line of traditions!
Look out for a special Easter edition of the Newsletter next Friday, headlined by Stuart Gyngell, our Chaplain, and Kirsty Kurilowicz, our Primary School Christian Studies Educator as we approach this most holy of Christian occasions.
David Proudlove | College Principal
Southern Farm Supplies
Many thanks to the lovely folks at Southern Farm Supplies who not only supplied, but planted our front paddock with a mixture of rye, chicory and clover just a couple of weeks ago, absolutely free! Favourable conditions have allowed the first green shoots to appear amazingly quickly, and we look forward to seeing how much growth takes place while the weather stays reasonably warm.
Cross Country
Well done to all who took part, despite the wet conditions. Thank you to the secondary students who assisted with the primary carnival. The junior students enjoyed running with and trying to beat the high school students. Thank you to our P&F volunteers for running the cake stall and thank you to the families who contributed the tasty treats.
Pre-Kindergarten News
Hi Families,
Thank you for a wonderful Term 1. The children have settled in beautifully and are now well-adjusted to the routines of the classroom.
On Tuesday afternoon, the Pre-Kindergarten students visited the Agriculture Plot with Dan the Dirt Man, accompanied by some Year 5 and Year 6 Green Team students. During this visit, the children meticulously peeled back the husks of the corn to facilitate the drying process, which will take approximately four weeks. Once dried, the corn will be ready for use in the popcorn machine. The children thoroughly enjoyed this activity and we are now hanging the corn in our room to dry.
Additionally, the children are working on their Easter crafts, creating special cards for the residents of RSL LifeCare - Hugh Cunningham Gardens Village at Tura Beach. They will present these beautifully decorated cards, along with chocolates, to the residents as a special Easter gift on Friday the 11th of April 2025.
Happy Easter!
Mrs Fish
Thoughts From Year 1
- We have been learning about longs and shorts.
- We have a new girl visiting.
- We have a marking table.
- We have been learning about quails.
- We visited the Year 2 room to see the baby quail.
- We have been making maps of the school.
- We designed our own parks in Maps.
- We have the alphabet on the wall.
Year 2B
Year 2B students were beyond excited this week when, after 18 days of patiently waiting, 10 tiny quail chicks joined our class. The quails complement our Science unit on Living Things and we are enjoying learning about their habitat, needs and features. Perhaps we are also a tad excited about how “adorable”, “cute”, and “so so tiny” they are too!
Chayse Proudly Presents The 4L Learning Wall!
The idea is to have students produce a visible, interactive classroom display designed to support students' learning by showcasing key concepts, vocabulary and success criteria related to a specific unit of work. With our recent introduction of Literacy Rotations, our Learning Wall focus in Term 1 has been on Literacy.
We are sure you'll agree that 4L are making learning visible and explicit in their learning environment, aiding retention and understanding. It also looks a whole lot better than a blank white wall!
Way to go, 4L!
GRIP Leadership
AICES Touch
Congratulations to Ryan, Ella and Leah!
On Wednesday, 2nd April, Ryan, Ella and Leah were invited to play for SASSA at the State AICES Touch Competition. It was a day of great success with the 15’s Boys SASSA team, with Ryan Kelly in the team, finishing 2nd overall. The 15’s Girls team with Ella Inskip and Leah Kelly played well throughout the day against very tough competition.
Thank you to their parents for taking them to Sydney to participate.
AICES Swimming
Well Done Travis and Josh!
On Tuesday, 1st April, Josh Croxford and Travis Insley-Hasiuk dove into the pool at the State AICES Swimming championships. Josh swam the 16 Years 50m Breaststroke event, coming in 5th overall. Travis swam in the 50m Multiclass Freestyle event, placing 3rd and is invited to swim at CIS Swimming Championships on 5th May.
Questacon Visits SCAC
In Week 9, Questacon visited Year 7 and Year 8 in the SCAC Library. The challenge of the day was to build a marble roller coaster out of various materials and include a mystery object in the construction. Some of the mystery objects included a toy crocodile named Terrance, a taco holder, a pipe, a baking tray, a toy crab, a large spoon and a dumpling maker.
Some quotes from Year 8 students include...
- “It was challenging to build the roller coaster and then refine it to make it work better".
- "The marble moved fast and jumped out of our track".
- "I enjoyed using the mystery object".
- "I loved watching the roller coaster rides on the big screen TV”.
- "It was fun working together to build the roller coaster”.
The Questacon visit was an excellent and hands-on experience for Mandatory Technology and Science.
Thrilling U/13's Rugby League Clash at Sapphire Coast Anglican College
The recent U/13’s Rugby League competition at Sapphire Coast Anglican College saw an intense and closely contested match between SCAC and Lumen Christi Catholic College. The highlight of the day was an incredible comeback effort, with both teams crossing the try line three times in a fiercely competitive encounter.
Special recognition goes to the standout players of the match, as voted by their teammates. Kaleb Inskip was a defensive powerhouse, demonstrating ruthless tackles and powerful runs that kept the opposition on their toes. Jessup Laidlaw displayed exceptional agility, proving quick on his feet and finding the try line twice. Meanwhile, Lawson Umbers led the team brilliantly from halfback, maintaining a high work rate and securing a well-earned try.
A huge commendation goes out to all the boys for their hard work in training and unwavering support for one another throughout the competition. Their teamwork and commitment were evident on the field, setting a strong foundation for future success.
With the U/14’s competition on the horizon in Term 2, the team is eager for their next challenge and another opportunity to showcase their skills. Well done to all involved, and we look forward to what’s to come!
Year 7 Science
Year 7's recently completed their first assessment: SCAC Academy Prac Skills test and thoroughly enjoyed working through stations and demonstrating all they had learned in the first few essential months of high school Science
Year 7 Science students also enjoyed the new life in the lab... as our SCAC chickies continue to grow and provide such a sense of enjoyment in each lesson... Oh, how we can relate almost every topic of Science to chickies growing and environment (BIO); moving (PHYSICS); food they eat (CHEM); and their amazing impact on the land (EARTH & ENVIRONMENT).
In continuing their Observing the Universe unit, students observed and timed how long an egg might take to float when adding salt to water. We discovered that this was highly dependent on the freshness and type of the egg. Some students continued on to question what happens when an egg is left in vinegar - so we checked that out too!
Ag News
Year 8
Thank you SFS and parents of the school for seeding our paddocks... and PRAISE GOD FOR THE RAIN... We have some lovely green crops coming through and hopefully, we can purchase a handful of beautiful genetic-quality sheep for the school next term if the paddocks are ready!
Year 9
While Year 10's were on an excursion, many little quails hatched in primary, and the Year 9 Aggies have been drawn to their cuteness each day! They have been moved to their brooder box. Year 9 students enjoyed watching younger students answer questions and investigate the new 'habitat' of these tiny little blessings.
Year 11
Year 11 Ag students have been greatly focused on theory. We visited the farm a few times to check on our wonderful animals.
The 2025 Green Team
This week marked the formal initiation of this year’s Green Team down at the Ag Plot with primary and secondary crews committing to blitzing the patch, building projects, and moving on seasonal growing.
A few highlights this past month saw works afoot to plumb micro-irrigation into our natives nursery marking a key milestone as we soon add the propagation of perennials, bush foods and seasonal veggies to students’ skill set.
We’ve booted a bounty of potatoes, tomatoes, celery (perhaps too much), basil, sunflower, snake beans and summer greens up to Hospitality with barrows of our signature watermelon also trundling up the hill.
A keystone harvest of purple popcorn has just been reaped with Kindy processing and curing almost 200 cobs for mega-munching next term – which incidentally coincides with Costa Georgiadis’ third visit on Friday, 9th May.
Students also grew, harvested and podded a unique crop of Wilmar Pinto beans for donating back to Bega Valley Seed Savers as part of the regional On Seed One Community Project in collaboration with BVSC Libraries.
Currently, we are building a portable chicken coop which will work in conjunction with a 6-meter polyhoop run (from 90% salvaged materials) designed for rotating across our terraced market garden beds which we will shape over winter.
Year 11 Biology
Year 11's Bio students enjoyed modelling cells and then discussed structure as compared to function. They soon move on to how enzymes work within a body - AMAZING STUFF!
The Big Issue visits the Year 12 CAFS classroom
Currently, Year 12 Community and Family Studies are learning about a variety of groups within our community as part of their study on Groups in Context. One group they are focussing on is Homeless People.
On March 26, Year 12 Community and Family Studies students participated in The Big Issue Classroom. The Big Issue presented to the students about disadvantage, marginalisation and homelessness. Students also had a guest speaker present who shared his experience and journey with disadvantage, homelessness and the assistance he has received from The Big Issue.
The Big Issue is an independent, not-for-profit organisation dedicated to supporting and creating work opportunities for people experiencing homelessness, marginalisation and disadvantage through their Street Vendors for their Magazine, the Women’s Workforce, The Big Issue Classroom presentations and their Community Street Soccer Program. They help people help themselves.
Alice
On the 26th of March, we had the privilege to talk to Helen and Vernon. They are both a part of ‘The Big Issue’ which is an organisation which helps support homeless individuals. We were educated through statistics, activities, and getting to hear Vernon share his own experience of homelessness. It was incredible being able to hear from these educated people, allowing me to empathize and picture what it would be like in their shoes. It has allowed me to consider ways in which I can support and provide for people who are homeless in respective ways. Vernon helped me see that even saying ‘Hi’ or suggesting practical skills or services to someone who is homeless can make all the difference. He told us that since an individual from the community is interacting with them they may feel more included and connected. I am so grateful for this experience and the insight that it has given me in supporting others who may be struggling with homelessness in our own community.
Stella
Chatting with The Big Issue this afternoon has been really beneficial. It helps me understand those who are homeless and the challenges that they face. I think that it's really beneficial that we educate ourselves on things like these so that we can treat people in our community with respect and compassion. The Big Issue is a powerful initiative that supports homeless people with their financial security and social well being. I also really enjoyed gaining an understanding from the new perspective that I heard from Vernon. He has experienced the hardships of homelessness and talks to others to spread awareness of homelessness. The most beneficial part that I learnt from Vernon’s story was that a smile or a quick chat goes a long way for those who experience homelessness. By feeling a part of the community it improves their overall well being especially for those who experience hardship. I am very grateful for this chat because I've learnt so much.
Kitty
The Big Issue meeting was a really good experience to have, it gave me a bigger insight into what homeless people go through and how we can help people who are homeless. It was great hearing the story of the guest speaker, Vernon who was homeless at stages of his life and hearing about his childhood and experiences that he had and his perspective. There were times through the meeting where we could discuss the issues and stereotypes of homeless people. Overall this experience has helped me understand more about the issue of homelessness and I am very thankful that I got to experience this.
Community Notices
Timeless Tales
The Sapphire Coast Concert Band, conducted by Mr Fitzgerald, is presenting a program for children and the young at heart at The Twyford in Merimbula, on Sunday, April 13th at 2pm.
The concert will feature local singer, actor and playwright, Jamie Forbes narrating Peter & the Wolf, and Aesop's Fables; there will be sing-a-longs, music from the movies and something for everyone!
Tickets are available on the door, online or by calling 0421 199 910.