HILLCREST CHRISTIAN COLLEGE
NEW STUDENT STARTER GUIDE
Welcome TO HILLCREST CHRISTIAN COLLEGE
Thank you for choosing Hillcrest Christian College for your child’s educational journey. We are so pleased that your family is joining our College community and we consider it the greatest privilege to partner with you in educating and nurturing your child.
Our aim is to provide a supportive environment where our students feel inspired and excited to learn, and where they will be equipped with the knowledge, skills and personal characteristics to thrive on their spiritual, academic, emotional and extracurricular journeys. We look forward to getting to know you and your family, and I welcome the opportunity to meet with you any time you would like to discuss your child’s experience at Hillcrest Christian College. Blessings,
Mr Jeff Davis
Executive Head of College
Our New Student Starter Guide provides a range of information to help you, as your family begins an exciting journey at Hillcrest Christian College.
START, FINISH &
BREAK TIMES START & FINISH TIMES • The first bell rings at 8.20am
BREAKS IN THE JUNIOR LEARNING COMMUNITY Morning Tea 10.20am – 11.00am Lunch 1.00pm – 1.40pm
• Classes commence at 8.25am • Classes conclude at 2.40pm for Prep • Classes conclude at 3pm for Years 1 - 12
BREAKS IN THE SENIOR LEARNING COMMUNITY Morning Tea 10.20am – 11.00am Lunch
12.40pm – 1.20pm
Thursdays Morning Tea 10.05am - 10.35am Lunch
MEDICAL INFORMATION If your child has any special medical needs, medical conditions or medical history that should be known by staff and noted on College records, please email our College nurses: health@hillcrest.qld.edu.au or update your child’s details on our Parent Lounge.
12.15pm - 12.45pm
ABSENTEES It is important to notify the College any day that your child will be absent. Please submit absences before 8.30am by clicking on ‘Absentees’ on the College App or in the Parent Lounge, and provide your family login details to complete the quick notification process. If you know in advance that your child will be absent from College, you can submit an absence notification ahead of time.
JUNIOR LEARNING COMMUNITY LATE ARRIVALS
JLC students who arrive to College after 8.25am must sign in using the computer in Main or JLC Reception (located at the Castle), and will be given a late slip to present to their teacher. Prep - Year 2 students must then be walked to their classroom by their caregiver.
EARLY DEPARTURES
Students who need to leave early must sign out using the computer in Main or JLC Reception. Prep Year 2 students must be collected from JLC Reception, while Years 3 - 6 students can be collected from Main or JLC Reception. JLC students are not permitted to wait for their parents at the pick up zone during College hours. We prefer if parents can email or call JLC Reception in advance, when any special pick up arrangements need to be made. If we do not receive a notification from you, and the person collecting your child is not listed on our records, the student will not be released from our College until we can speak to an authorised parent to confirm this arrangement.
LATE ARRIVALS
EARLY DEPARTURES SENIOR LEARNING COMMUNITY LATE ARRIVALS
SLC students who arrive to College after 8.25am must sign in using the computer in the SLC Reception and will be given a late slip to present to their teacher.
EARLY DEPARTURES
Students who need to leave early must sign out using the computer in the SLC Reception. SLC students are permitted to wait for their parents at the pick up zone. We prefer if parents can email or call Main or SLC Reception in advance, when any special pick up arrangements need to be made.
TERM
DATES 2020 TERM ONE
28 January – 2 April (First day for Prep students: 29 January 2020)
TERM TWO
20 April – 18 June
TERM THREE
13 July – 17 September
TERM FOUR
6 October – 27 November (Year 12 External Exams from 26 October - 20 November 2020)
IMPORTANT
CONTACT DETAILS Direct phone numbers and email addresses for our various departments are as follows:
Main Reception
07 5593 4226
mainreception@hillcrest.qld.edu.au
Kindy
07 5655 0910
kindy@hillcrest.qld.edu.au
JLC Reception
07 5655 0920
jlc@hillcrest.qld.edu.au
SLC Reception
07 5655 0930
slc@hillcrest.qld.edu.au
First Aid/Nurse
07 5593 4226
health@hillcrest.qld.edu.au
OSHC
0400 212 656
oshc@hillcrest.qld.edu.au
Performing Arts
07 5655 0940
performingarts@hillcrest.qld.edu.au
The Hub Canteen 07 5522 0511
hub@hillcrest.qld.edu.au
Uniform Shop
07 5522 0629
hillcrestcc@alinta.com
JLC Sport
07 5593 4226
jlcsport@hillcrest.qld.edu.au
SLC Sport
07 5593 4226
slcsport@hillcrest.qld.edu.au
COMMUNICATION EMAIL
HILLCREST APP
The College’s primary form of communication with parents is via email. Staff email addresses typically follow the format of the first letter of their first name followed by their surname @hillcrest.qld.edu.au. For example Emily Savery is esavery@hillcrest.qld.edu.au.
Please ‘like’ Hillcrest Christian College on Facebook to connect with class parents, families, the P&F and view College activities, photos and events. Each year level have their own private Facebook group. For example, Year 1 (graduating) Class of 2029. A full list of our College Facebook pages and groups can be found under ‘Social Media’ on the Community Zone and we highly recommend that new JLC families join the ‘Hillcrest JLC ’ Facebook page.
Please download our helpful app as it is our first form of communication regarding urgent College matters, for example bus schedule changes for camps/excursions/events, sport cancellations and traffic updates. You can manage your Hillcrest app subscriptions and alerts to ensure that you only receive the notifications that are relevant to you.
COLLEGE NEWSLETTER The College issues a fortnightly newsletter to all families via email and through our app, which provides our College community with the latest news, information and updates.
COMMUNITY UPDATES The Senior and Junior Communities send out updates on a regular basis via email.
PARENT LOUNGE & COMMUNITY ZONE ACCESS TO THE COLLEGE CALENDAR You can access the College Calendar via the Hillcrest website: www.hillcrest.qld.edu.au/news/ calendar, through the Parent Lounge, and on the Hillcrest Christian College app. Please ensure you check the College Calendar regularly to remain up-to-date with current information and event dates.
You will be emailed your unique Family Code and password to log in to our Parent Lounge and Community Zone, prior to commencement. The Parent Lounge can be accessed via the Hillcrest website or College app, and is the primary place for personal information about your student/s. This secure site requires you to log in to see the information relating to your child/ren and includes College reports, timetables, attendance, medical information and account details. The Community Zone is also accessible via secure login through our Hillcrest website (top right hand corner), and provides useful information relating to our JLC/SLC/ELC communities, The Hub canteen, our Uniform Policy, cocurricular/ sports/ performing arts information, excursions, family events, bus information and routes, as well as forms and important links. If you have any questions regarding the Parent Lounge or Community Zone, please contact our Main Reception on 07 5593 4226.
GETTING TO AND FROM
HILLCREST DROP OFF | PICK UP | CAR PARKING Prep - Year 2 parents are provided with a parking/drop off pass, giving them access to Chocolate Drive for onsite car parking and the Prep - Year 2 drop off zone, which is staffed daily from 7.30am - 8.20am. Prep - Year 2 students who use the drop off zone on Chocolate Drive will be escorted to the Castle undercover play area by a teacher. To ensure the safety of our student pedestrians, Castle Drive is not accessible to vehicles after 7.45am, and Chocolate Drive is not accessible between 9.00am and 2.30pm, except for emergencies. Hillcrest has parking on Bridgman Drive for parents and licensed student drivers. Most parents utilise our Drop and Go drop off and pick up zone, for ease of getting students to and from school.
BUSES Hillcrest owns a fleet of modern and air-conditioned buses, providing a bus service to and from school each day. Our service extends from Northern NSW to Southport, and the Hinterland. All of our bus routes are listed on our website, and you can register or pay for a Bus Service in the Community Zone, under Online Payments. Bus Passes can be purchased for one student, or a family, and we offer discounted Term Bus Passes when payment is made in full by the second Friday of each Term. Trips to and from the Varsity Lakes Train Station are also available at the cost of $1.00 each way. We do not include Bus Fees on College Fee Statements, as they are paid separately to College fees. If you do not require a full Term Pass, you can purchase Flexi Passes online, through the Bus Pass Payments button in our Community Zone. The Flexi Pass must be punched by the driver on each journey.
Please refer to our College Parking Map for assistance with our designated parking zones
COLLEGE PARKING SPACES Drop & Go Zone Drop Off Parents Only Executive Admin Staff Bus Drivers Kindy Staff Kindy - Year 2 Parents JLC Staff SLC Staff Performing Arts Staff
COLLEGE PARKING MAP PAR KING DRO P AND GO - NO
ITY
EXECUTIVE
P RE P
&Y
S
KINDY
ADMIN STAFF
BUS DRIVERS
DRIVEW
AY AK A
KINDY STAFF
CASTLE
DRIVE
KINDY, PREP, YR 1 PARENTS
JLC STAFF
SLC STAFF
2018 COLLEGE PARKING SPACES MUN JUNIOR LEARNING COM
ITY MMUN ING CO LEARN ENIOR
DROP OFF - PARENTS ONLY
1D ROP OF F R
DRIVEWAY AKA CHOCOLATE DRIVE
DROP & GO ZONE
BRIDGMAN DRIVE
PERFORMING ARTS STAFF
NO PARKING DROP AND GO -
OUTSIDE SCHOOL HOURS
CARE
We run a professional Outside School Hours Care (OSHC) service onsite at our College, where your child will be cared for in a child-centred environment. Our OSHC program is a government-funded service, and therefore eligible families are able to claim the Childcare Subsidy (CCS).
BEFORE SCHOOL CARE
AFTER SCHOOL CARE
6.30AM - 8.20 AM
3.00PM - 6.00PM
Breakfast is served to children who attend our Before School Care from 6.30am – 7.30am, and includes cereals and toast. Children in Before School Care can participate in a range of activities, or complete any homework they have. Prep - Year 3 students are walked to their classroom by an OSHC Educator, while students Year 4 and above walk themselves to their classroom.
Prep students in our After School Care program are delivered to the OSHC classroom by their Teacher Aide. Children will be signed into the service by the OSHC Coordinator, and provided with afternoon tea. Children are encouraged to complete their homework before they participate in indoor and outdoor activities.
VACATION CARE
6.30AM - 6.00PM
Our Vacation Care program operates from 6.30am – 6.00pm during school holidays, and provides many interactive, fun and engaging activities, including excursions, arts and crafts, games and special events such as scooter day. Our Vacation Care program features an excursion each Wednesday of the holidays, which incurs an extra charge.
For more information about any of these programs, or to register, please see OSHC under Our College Services on our website or email oshc@hillcrest.qld.edu.au.
AFTER HOURS IN THE LIBRARY Hillcrest students who arrive early or leave late, may utilise the Library for a range of quiet, unsupervised activities.
BEFORE SCHOOL
The Library is open from 7.45am for students in Years 3 - 12.
AFTER SCHOOL
The Library is open until 4.30pm, Monday – Friday. Students who are Year 4 or above may use the Library without a parent until closing time, but must be ‘Independently, Profitably Occupied,’ meaning that they are to engage in quiet activities which do not disturb others who are using the Library for study and research purposes.
LIBRARY PHONE LINE
Hillcrest’s Main Reception closes at 4.00pm daily, so we request that parents contact the Library directly on 07 5655 0925, if they are unable to collect their JLC student at closing time, and special arrangements will need to be made.
LIBRARY ACTIVITIES
Students may choose from a range of activities in the Library, including: own homework, reading, chess, board games, Maker Space activities (limited availability), art and craft activities, puzzles, own computer programs, or helping the Library staff with small tasks.
PREPARING FOR
DAY ONE UNIFORMS The Hillcrest Christian College uniform has been designed to present a professional appearance within the College and wider community, while using practical fabrics that are comfortable to wear, and easy to wash. Every student will require a formal uniform and sports uniform, which varies slightly across our different learning communities. Students will be notified of their sports uniform days by their teacher at the start of each term.
COLLEGE EXPECTATIONS: UNIFORMS & PERSONAL APPEARANCE
Unless we advise otherwise, we recommend that students come to school on their first day dressed in their formal uniform, with the sports uniform in their bag, in case it is required. More information about our uniform specifications, costs and purchasing, can be found in our Uniform Policy on the uniform shop page of our College website, or at our uniform shop.
SECOND HAND UNIFORMS
Hillcrest has a designated Buy, Swap, Sell Facebook page that you may like to join, as a more cost-effective way to acquire the College uniforms you need for your children. The Facebook page is overseen by the College, but please note the sale and purchase of items via the page is at the discretion of its users, and not the responsibility of the College.
UNIFORM SHOP Hours: 7.30am - 9.15am, Monday - Friday (term time) Location: Room 9, JLC Precinct
PERSONAL APPEARANCE As a College community, we take pride in our College and the way we present ourselves to the wider community. It is the responsibility of each member of our community to ensure that their appearance is one that meets expectations. Please be aware the following are not acceptable and are in conflict with these expectations: • Wearing multiple sets of earrings (including sleepers) to school
Students who do not comply with our uniform expectations, will be asked to rectify the problem before they can join our community. Please refer to the College Uniform Policy found on the Community Zone.
• Body piercings, tattoos or dermal implants that are visible when wearing the College uniform • Extreme haircuts or styles, including undercuts or unnaturally coloured hair. Boys hair must be kept short. • Purchasing school shoes that do not have polishable leather upper and a heel. Wearing Mary-Jane style shoes, black canvas or sneaker style shoes, such as vans or converse are not appropriate.
Please visit www.hillcrest.qld.edu.au/ college/services/uniform to see our full uniform policy and list of items required.
HOMEWORK After school hours can be a very busy time for families and so our intention at Hillcrest is to set homework tasks that are enriching and beneficial, and are not adding additional stress into the evening routine. We believe homework provides a valuable means for developing life skills in organisation, time management and self-regulation, and we see a strong correlation between those who undertake regular homework and those who excel academically.
Students who complete the set tasks may choose to do additional ‘enrichment tasks’ which are linked to the concepts being taught at school and integrate a range of important skills. Senior students are expected to self-manage their homework tasks and should schedule about two hours of homework each night. This will ensure they are on track to complete their assignments, or undertake revision of subject content in preparation for regular assessments.
Homework is not compulsory for JLC students, but it is highly recommended that junior students spend time reading and learning their number facts.
TEXTBOOKS
SLC ONLY
Students will be advised of their required texts on the first day of school and these will be available as e-texts, however, if students prefer to use textbooks, most of these will be available to borrow from the College Library, as required.
STATIONERY JUNIOR LEARNING COMMUNITY
Stationery for Prep –Year 6 students is included in College Fees, and will be provided by the College. In Prep, all of your child’s stationery is provided in the classroom. Years 1 - 6 students will be provided with a stationary pack that includes their annual supply of stationery. This pack is distributed to students during the College O Day which is held at the beginning of the year, or on the student’s first day, if they commence part way through the year.
SENIOR LEARNING COMMUNITY
The stationery list for Years 7 - 12 students is located online www.hillcrest.qld.edu.au/community/slc-community. These items can be purchased from places such as: Big W, Officeworks, Target or other online suppliers.
DEVICE
PROGRAMS ONE2ONE PROGRAM
BYOD PROGRAM
Our one2one device program launched in 2018 to align our teaching on one device, and provides every SLC student (from 2020) with a Microsoft Surface Book 2, Surface pen and relevant software. The device is leased to students for a three-year term for a nominal fee, which is added to their College fees each term.
Hillcrest operates a Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) program, and all students in Years 5 - 6 will require access to a Microsoft, stylus-enabled device.
Please refer to the current College Fee Schedule on our website for a full break down of costs.
For further information please email: one2one@hillcrest.qld.edu.au
ENRICHMENT
OPPORTUNITIES CAMPS Our year-level and House camps are the highlight of the College calendar for many students, and provide a wonderful way for students to connect with their peers, as they learn things about themselves that they may not have discovered in the classroom.
Specific information about these activities will be emailed to parents and carers throughout the year.
Students often grow in self-confidence during our exciting camps, as they push their personal boundaries, overcome fears, create lasting memories and develop friendships that carry them through their College years.
Camps are a compulsory part of our curriculum and begin from Year 4 with an overnight camp, and gradually increase in duration as students mature.
EXCURSIONS All of our classes at Hillcrest also embark on a range of exciting excursions throughout the year, designed to bring our curriculum to life outside of the classroom, and ultimately deepen our students’ understanding of a current topic. Excursion costs are generally included in College fees, and often include visits to theme parks, museums, galleries, technology centres, wildlife parks and much more.
ENRICHMENT COCURRICULAR PROGRAMS Our Sport and Cocurricular program at Hillcrest is important to the holistic education of students, and is integrated throughout our Prep – Year 12 timetable. In our Junior Learning Community, we foster passion for physical activity with an engaging ‘housebased’ culture, and broad exposure to various sports, including netball, basketball, tennis, soccer and athletics. Our older JLC students can join the competitive interschool sport program and participate in basketball, netball, soccer, rugby league, hockey, Oztag, touch football or AFL.
More information on our cocurricular programs can be found on the Community Zone.
OPPORTUNITIES
CONTINUED
We also encourage JLC students to participate in our extracurricular Sparks, Flames and Explosions programs which provide a breadth of extracurricular and sporting options, and are offered before and after school at a minimal cost. Our Chess, Debating, Public Speaking, Mooting and Art Club programs complement the academic progress of students, and includes the esteemed Duke of Edinburgh award program.
PERFORMING ARTS Hillcrest’s Performing Arts program is a dynamic and diverse department of staff and students, who are passionate about what they do. Hillcrest students have the opportunity to participate in an exciting variety of Performing Arts curricular and cocurricular programs, across the scope of Music, Drama and Dance.
CHOIRS
Our renowned Performing Arts program features 14 choirs, with specialist vocal and choral staff. Within our Choral program are three Excellence Choirs that have represented the College locally, nationally and internationally with recent tours including Hobart, South Korea and the United States.
In the Senior Learning Community we continue to promote a culture of team participation, and futsal is introduced as an interschool activity. Senior students who display excellence in individual or team sports can trial to represent the College at local, State and National levels, and may wish to join our specialised training programs. Students may also qualify to participate in our Basketball Excellence Program, where Hillcrest teams are ranked among the best in Queensland and Australia.
INSTRUMENTAL
Our Instrumental Program has over 320 musicians from Years 4 - 12, including numerous band ensembles and orchestras. The Years 4 - 6 band and strings programs run as part of our general curriculum, to give every student a foundational understanding of music. Students can also access private tuition from our team of highly accomplished instrumental tutors.
DANCE
In addition to our Hillcrest SLC Dance program, we also have over 250 students enrolled in our Hillcrest Dance Academy, run in partnership with the Currumbin Academy of Performing Arts (CAPA) and offering classes in all forms of dance, from Kindy - Year 12.
PARENTS & FRIENDS The College has a thriving P&F Committee who work alongside our Executive team and staff community to promote fellowship and connection for Hillcrest parents and families. The P&F hold General Meetings each term, and these meetings are streamed live for those parents who are unable to attend in person. All members of our community are warmly invited to be part of our P&F community. Please feel free to email pandf@hillcrest.qld. edu.au if you are interested in becoming involved. Each class from Prep - Year 6 has a volunteer Class Parent who supports the teacher with communications, volunteers and social activities. We encourage all new parents and carers to make themselves known to the Class Parent in order to connect with other families.
THE HUB CANTEEN The Hub is our onsite canteen which provides a range of healthy and tasty meals for Hillcrest students. The Hub also has microwaves available for students to heat up their meals. Prep - Year 6 students must use the online ordering system, Flexischools, to order their morning tea or lunch from The Hub. Their online order must be placed in advance, and it will be delivered to their classroom on the day and time it is required.
Prep - Year 6 students may order snacks directly from The Hub by cash or EFTPOS, before or after school only. Years 7 - 12 students may purchase food directly from The Hub by cash or EFTPOS during any break times, and may also use Flexischools to pre-order their food which they can collect during their morning tea or lunch break. Please visit www.flexischools. com.au to register and order food from The Hub.
COLLEGE
FEES
COLLEGE FEES Our Prep – Year 12 College Fee Schedule incorporates the various costs into one fee per child, per term, and includes tuition, camps, stationery, textbook hire, one2one device program lease fee (where applicable), excursions, student accident insurance, capital and P&F levies. The fee includes planned activities but for any unplanned activities, parents will be notified and charged.
Optional programs including specialist clubs and after school activities are not included in College Fees and will be charged separately, for example music tutoring, Dance Academy, tennis etc.
College Fees are subject to change so please refer to www.hillcrest.qld. edu.au/enrolment/ fees for the most current information
FEE PAYMENT METHODS Term Fee Statements are issued before the commencement of each term and payments are due by the second Friday of the new term, using one of the following methods:
PAY ONLINE USING CREDIT/DEBIT CARD OR DIRECT DEBIT Most parents use Credit/Debit Card or Direct Debit using the payment platform available in our secure Parent Lounge, family portal, under the 'accounts' section. New families are provided with their personal Parent Lounge login information, once they are enrolled at Hillcrest. Using this method, our families can opt to manually make a single payment, or set up automatic Payment Schedules with multiple secure payment options, including credit card, debit card, direct debit or a combination. Every Hillcrest family can review or update their Payment Schedule and College Fees account any time, from any device.​
PAY VIA BPAY
Follow the instructions on your Fee Statement to make a BPay payment.
We hope the information provided in this guide assists you as you begin an exciting journey at Hillcrest Christian College. If you have any questions please contact the relevant department: JLC: jlc@hillcrest.qld.edu.au | 07 5655 0920 SLC: slc@hillcrest.qld.edu.au | 07 5655 0930
HILLCREST CHRISTIAN COLLEGE A
21 Bridgman Drive, Reedy Creek Qld 4227
P
PO Box 2503, Burleigh Waters Qld 4220
T
07 5593 4226
E office@hillcrest.qld.edu.au W hillcrest.qld.edu.au
The information contained in this document is correct at the time it was updated (November 2019), but may be subject to change. Please refer to the Hillcrest website for the most up to date information. Hillcrest Christian College is an interdenominational ministry of Reedy Creek Baptist Church and is operated by Hillcrest Christian College Ltd. CRICOS No. 01043C | ACN 010381334 | ABN 68 947 459 366