CONNECT Edition 2 2020

connect Community @ CCC

EDITION 2 2020

Growing God’s Kingdom through Excellence in Education

CONTENT Around CCC, pg 1 From the Principal, pg 2 COVID-19 @ Home, pg 3 COVID-19 @ School, pg 5 Nature Play, pg 8 Staggered Reurn, pg 9 Return to Normal, pg 11 Focus on the Family, pg 13 Looking for a church? pg 14

TEAM Natalie Cocks, Creator Melita Whittle, Co-ordinator Minette Engelbrecht, Editor Staff, Students & Alumni, Content & Photos

CCC CONNECT | Term 2 | 2020

From the Leadership

FROM THE PRINCIPAL

I am truly blessed to be the Principal of such a caring, supportive and nurturing school. - Trevor Norman Let me start by saying – we made it! We have just been through one of the most challenging and unusual school terms the College has seen, and by God’s grace, we made it through to the other side!

Two of the most important things this recent experience has highlighted for me are partnerships and communit y. This term we embarked on an unknown journey, taking learning completely online and CCC families placed their trust in our staf f, and walked with us as we navigated this dif ferent mode of learning. Thank you for partnering with us and supporting us as we provided for your child’s education in a digital space. And although students have now returned to campus and things are slowly resembling our previous normalit y, this experience opened up new possibilities for the College; it allowed for creative ideas to be explored, and encouraged us to step out of our comfort zone and embrace evolving change. This could not have been possible without the support of our CCC staf f communit y. During the challenge of COVID-19, staf f extended their support to students and families

through a direct phone care hotline and dedicated email address, prayer partnerships and praise wall, live and recorded sessions of Chapel and Assembly and not to mention blessing others with ‘check-in’ catch ups, inspirational messages and sweet treats.

Staf f and the P&F provided families who were experiencing hardship with food and care packages.

Student and parent enquiries were responded to daily to help navigate the technical side of online learning. Digital Q& A sessions were held, as well as other communication and connection opportunities facilitated by staf f. They supported in classrooms, they prepared engaging, online content for students, they stepped up and showed up each and ever y day. Our CCC staf f went above and beyond during this time to encourage each other and support our students and families.

I am truly blessed to be the Principal of such a caring, supportive and nurturing school.

Trevor Norman Principal

CCC CONNECT | Excellence

in Education

2

COVID-19 @ HOME

LEARNING FROM HOME After 20+ years as a teacher I never imagined I would ever teach classes from my home, but I did & this is a teaching experience I shall never forget!

CCC was amazing in their planning and upskilling of teachers in the weeks leading up to the lockdown orders and this made it not only all a possibility but a success under difficult circumstances. It was always such a delight to see my students pop up on Teams for the explicit teaching sessions and all the fun and challenges it sometimes raised but I did miss the faceto-face interactions that school based learning provides.

- NICOLE DONNELLY

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CCC CONNECT | Term 2 | 2020

Secondary Teacher

Staying Connected

We really appreciate and see the value in the efforts that CCC have gone to, in order to create a positive learning experience for our children – it is a real testament to all involved. Once again, it leaves us with no doubt that enrolling our children at CCC was the best decision we could have made in regard to their education. We are sincerely grateful and just wanted to acknowledge the hard work that we see has gone into this transition, under very unusual and difficult circumstances.

- ANGEL A SMITH

CCC CONNECT | Excellence

in Education

Parent

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COVID-19 @ SCHOOL

LEARNING AT SCHOOL I am proud of the way that CCC was able to operate during this time. The willingness of all staff to step up and assist in whatever capacity enabled us to adjust to the various situations in which we found ourselves, particularly in the early stages when things were changing on a daily basis.

- VICKI VENZ

5

CCC CONNECT | Term 2 | 2020

Secondary Teacher

Staying Connected

The Pandemic meant that I needed to coordinate the Instrumental and Immersion Programs in a very new way - online! It meant prepping each Instrumental Teacher, making sure they were set up to use MS Teams. It meant organising supervisors here at school for those students who were “at school learners”, and checking in with “at home learners.

- JENDY SMITH

CCC CONNECT | Excellence

in Education

Music Teacher

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COVID-19 @ SCHOOL

OUR EMPTY GROUNDS I found it really hard not being face to face with students who were learning at home.

I feel so blessed to work under our senior leadership as well as with the teachers in lower primary. Everyone supported each other, shared their wins and encouraged one another throughout this season.

The community of CCC were incredible throughout this time.

- SAR AH EDWARDS

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CCC CONNECT | Term 2 | 2020

Primary Teacher

NATURE PLAY QLD

2303 WAYS

D N A E D I S T U O T E G TO

E V I T C BE A

r neighbourhood u yo d n ou ar g jo or k al w 1. Take a family r u yo h it w e d ri e ik b a 2. Go for explore d an e k la or h c ea b a o t 3. Head a walk 4. Take your dog for in the park 5. Throw a frisbee 6. Go fishing een on before b ’t en v ha u yo t ha t k al be a kid! o t 7. Go on a bushw id k a e b o t e v ha ’t u don 8. Climb a tree - yo e to be a kid! v ha t on d so al e it k a 9. Fly Park 10. Visit a National rd or balcony ya k ac b , en rd ga r u yo of 11. Make use kyard 12. Camp in your bac he trees t o t p u ok lo d an s as gr 13. Lie on the der a tree 14. Build a cubby un the park 15. Look for bugs at the view at t ou ok lo d an n ai t n ou uiet!

16. Climb a m q r pe su e b o t er b em m g - re 17. Go birdwatchin your backyard in ea ar ay pl s rt pa e os 18. Create a lo nature in d in f u yo gs n hi t m ro 19. Make art f al park c lo r u yo at ic n c pi a on o 20. G

Supported by

Check out www.natureplayqld.org.au for more outdoor activities and age-appropriate lists

CCC CONNECT | Excellence

in Education

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STAGGERED RETURN

AROUND CCC

PHASE 1 Prep, Yr 11 & 12

Welcome Back

Fro ck Up Fri da y

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AROUND CCC

Last Day of Term

La st L IV E Ass e mb ly

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RETURN TO NORMAL

AROUND CCC

Year 4 Immersion Program

Senior Artworks

Y ea r 5 & 6 P ersu as iv e Ass essment

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AROUND CCC

Volunteers Week

P la nti n g in th e N atu re Space 12

Focus on the Family

FUN WAYS TECHNOLOGY CAN CONNECT YOU WITH FAMILY

BY BRET ECKELBERRY There are many ways you can connect with your loved ones, and those tools are right at your fingertips!

Fortunately, today’s technology gives us so many ways to facilitate contact and conversation with others, even if it is on a screen.

LET’S CONNECT WITH TECHNOLOGY So, now you have the tools you need to keep in touch with your friends and family. But how can you use it to reach out and connect in fun and meaningful ways? Here are a few ideas to get you started.

Pursue a Prayer Group Stay connected with friends and family on a spiritual level through praying together. Set a time – could be once a week, could be once a day – that works for everyone to get together as a group. Share praises and prayer requests. Talk through them together.

Then, take turns praying for each other. Public prayer, even over video chat, can be a powerful thing and a great way to stay connected with one another.

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Make a Movie Night Watching movies with loved ones can be a lot of fun – and you don’t necessarily have to be in the same place to enjoy it together! Pick a movie and organize a watch party. It could be a timeless classic that everyone enjoys or a cheesy movie just begging to be made fun of – it’s up to you! Start up a commentary on the movie with each other through text or watch each other’s reactions through a video call.

Do a Devotion Take some time to share a devotion with those close to you. There is no set time limit you must hit with your devotion. It could be a simple thought, a quote, or a passage that God has laid on your heart. It could also be a full-fledged digital Bible study group if you want that, too. Respond to what God is calling you to share. You never know the impact it may have! And if you happen to be looking for family devotion options, we’ve got you covered.

Set Up a Scavenger Hunt This type of scavenger hunt may look a little bit different than what you’re used to, but it can be just as fun! Challenge friends to find all sorts of items from around the house. It can be anything from a remote, paper clips, a Bible – even a Christmas ornament! When someone finds something, they can take a picture or video of it to send to the group. The first person to find everything on the list is the winner – maybe the prize is to pick the next movie you all watch together!

Get Creative With Encouragement Step up your encouragement game! Some video apps allow you to leave messages for one another, so you can use this to leave uplifting messages here and there. Know someone who is feeling isolated? Send them a message letting them know they’re not alone. Is someone feeling discouraged? Make a short video telling them about the things you appreciate about them. You can even make a video sharing a Scripture verse that means a lot to you. Think of these as little notes of encouragement, but in the digital space!

Host a “How-To” Do you have a particular skill that you would like to share? Maybe you’re a great cook and have some tasty recipes to pass along. If you’re handy, you could show others how to do routine maintenance around the house. Perhaps you paint or play an instrument. Whatever it is, now is a great time to share it with your friends and family. Take turns demonstrating all the useful skills you have in a group and see what you learn!

Looking for a church?

More than ever before, we can stay connected, even when we are apart. It may not be ideal, but sometimes difficult situations can put our connectedness with others (or lack thereof) into perspective. The key here is intentionality. Talk with your friends and family, come up with some great ideas to stay connected, and then use today’s technology to make it happen.

Associated

CHURCHES

SERVICES & MINISTRIES

Gympie Baptist

Gympie Wesleyan Methodist

Presbyterian Church

Mary Valley Wesleyan Methodist

(133 Corella Road, Gympie) Pastor: Tony Roberts Assoc. Pastor: Ben Cumerford Church Office: 5482 8525 Web: www.gympie-baptist-church.com (11 Crown Road, Gympie) Pastor: Daniel Saunders Church office: 5482 7629 Web: www. gympiepresbyterian.org.au

(70 Exhibition Road, Gympie) Pastor: Gary McClintock Church office: 5482 3618 Web: www.gympie.wesleyan.org.au

(198 Amamoor-Dagun Road, Amamoor) Pastor: Brendan Edwards Church office: 5484 3687 Web: www.maryvalley.wesleyan.org.au/

Church of Christ

(57 Horseshoe Bend, Gympie) Pastor: Kevin Dunn Church office: 5482 6331 Web: www.gympiechurch.com

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COOLOOLA CHRISTIAN COLLEGE 1 College Rd, Southside QLD 4570 (07) 5481 1000 ccc.qld.edu.au