ISSUE 2, WEDNESDAY, 23 MARCH 2016 FROM THE PRINCIPAL The more I meet with families, the more times I hear parents in particular mention that they do not have enough time in their lives. As you might imagine, I have the privilege of speaking into the lives of families based on my research and experience. Family time is precious. Too many times we all take it for granted and assume that it will be there forever. Please do not think that I am anything but a realist, I know the hard yards that parents go through when they have young children and the difficulty we all have in life in balancing careers, family time, self-time and then having the energy left to just complete life. In reading an article recently I was captured by the message that, “we all want more.” I did some further research on this and discovered that we have a symptomatic problem that our society is creating, where we want more luxuries in order to feel relaxed, yet we are having to work much harder to afford the luxuries. To me this is somewhat counterproductive. We work harder, which gives us less time, in order to purchase items that make us happy, which we don’t have the time to use. Somewhere along the way we have all made the mistake of thinking that real joy comes from anything other than investing in the lives of those who we value the most. In reading scripture, I often learn many truths that help better understand what is truly important in life. I was recently reading the story of the Ten Commandments, which we all know well, however in Deuteronomy 5:9-10 it talks about how God views our behaviours and particularly our worship of other things, such as money, instead of focussing on what is truly important.
You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, but showing love to a thousand generations of those who love me and keep my commandments. DEUTERONOMY 5:9-10
What I learn here is that my behaviours as a parent will affect the generations of my family that follow. There is never a clearer reason for me to ensure that my priorities reflect what is truly important to me so that my children learn from my actions, not my words. Research shows that children copy their parents. I would encourage all Hillcrest parents to keep this in mind as we approach the Easter season where we celebrate the death of Jesus Christ who died on a cross for the atonement of our sins. Especially at this time in the year, our children will see what is truly important to parents by their actions. There are amazing church services all around the coast this weekend. If establishing the right family legacy is a high priority for you, take the time to go to one of these services and start showing your children what is important in life. Please don’t make the excuse that you are too busy, because we are ignoring the promise made in verse 10 where God say he will show “love to a thousand generations of those who love me and keep my commands”. On behalf of the entire Hillcrest community, I wish you every blessing possible over the Easter period and holiday break. Thank you for your continued support and encouragement. Jeff Davis, PRINCIPAL
at Theme Parks for the remainder of this year. Staff will be required to map learning intentions against the Australian Curriculum elements and also ensure that their assignments are consistent with a 21st Century Learning Design in order that we can assure the quality and effectiveness of these learning activities matches the intention of our overall curriculum program. Students will be given opportunities to learn new skills and abilities at school prior to exploring and testing assumptions and hypothesis at Theme Parks directly related to the area of study.
All students in Years 3 to 12 will be given Theme Park passes until 31 December 2016 which they may use privately as well as educationally.
Cambridge University has been a leader in the development of educational philosophies that show that scenarios that can be solved in the real world lead to far richer and deeper student experiences. In conjunction with Village Roadshow, we will be piloting a project where students will be able to complete parts of their learning in a problem based learning activities
We are very excited where this partnership may lead and from the student feedback, they are equally as excited to not only receive the passes, but to have the opportunity
In developing a 21st Century curriculum we have learnt that real life application of learning is critical for the full development of skills and abilities that students will require in the employment world once they graduate from Hillcrest.
I will keep you fully informed of the developments of this program throughout the year and will also provide details of where our curriculum program can be accessed for your consideration.
ACCESSING YOUR MYFUN TICKETS Paper tickets will be allocated and sent home with all students in Years 3-12 this week. To activate membership and receive your MyFun Pass, students will be required to attend one of the Village Roadshow theme parks and process upon your first admission at an operating ticket booth so that you can be issued with your pass.
This is not an attempt to create an environment where students are leaving the school community to have ‘fun’ days, but rather the students will enter an enclosed environment where they will be able to explore curriculum elements in the real world, completely related to their school based learning program. All assessment pieces will be provided to Village Roadshow Executives and parents with the intention that students all around Australia will begin to use our programs as part of their excursions to each of the Theme Parks. Hillcrest staff will be developing these assessment pieces to ensure that the critical elements of learning are maintained. Students will get the benefit of experiencing a completely different learning environment, rather than the four walls of the classroom.
MYFUN PASSES YEARS 3-12
to experience learning as more than just a routine, but rather an exciting and stimulating experience.
21 Bridgman Drive, Reedy Creek Q 4227 | PO Box 2503, Burleigh Waters Q 4220 | 07 5593 4226 | hillcrest.qld.edu.au | office@hillcrest.qld.edu.au ACN 010381334 ABN 68 947 459 366 CRICOS 01043C Hillcrest Christian College is an interdenominational ministry of Reedy Creek Baptist Church and is operated by Hillcrest Christian College Ltd.