Families arrived early, pushing prams as children raced to the playground equipment or the cubbies and so the 2013 Dedication/Parent Information evening began. The talented Hermanus family played music and sang and our Principal Mr Venour and some staff and parents prayed for our school, students, staff, P & F, Council, families and community. It was our way of inviting God to be a part of what we do here at our College. It really was a wonderful, relaxed atmosphere and everyone resisted the tempting BBQ smells until the brief service was over.

After dinner, parents and guardians made their way to the classrooms for our Parent Information sessions - a chance to meet their children’s teachers and hear about what was in store for them this year. It was also a good opportunity to ask any questions. Don’t worry if you missed the evening, if you would like to speak with your child’s teacher you are always welcome to make an appointment to catch up with them. Thanks so much to Kylie and Latif Whyte, Caren and Ron Erasmus, Sam and Blair Davis and Peter Haines in particular for setting up and cooking the delicious BBQ!

T E R M 1 F E B R U A R Y 2 0 1 3 I S S U E 2

Nhulunbuy Christian College News

Dates for the diary

Tuesday, 19 FebruaryP & F Meet 7.30pm (staffroom)

Everyone welcome!

Friday, 28 February Free dress day (remember a gold

coin for Josephine)

Friday, 8 MarchSchool Photos Day

An evening to remember...

From the Principal’s DeskThe Principal is still in the midst of a huge week and so we thought we’d take over ‘his’ column to share a little of the joy of what has been an extraordinary few days in the life of our community.

The Primary Assembly this Wednesday featured more than just the Year 4 class singing and telling us about their recent studies on Deserts. The good news of the Refinery staying open prompted a ‘happy dance’ from the entire student body. And while many students are perhaps too young to fully understand the ramifications of the announcement - they did understand something joyous had happened. We think the Year 1/2 faces say it all really.

Some more snaps from our Dedication/Parent Information evening

Getting to know... Mrs Ros Marino Middle School Science teacherWhat was your first impression of Nhulunbuy? When arriving I noticed that lots of people on the flight knew one another and greeted one another on arrival which I thought was lovely. When researching Nhulunbuy I discovered lots of information about fishing, crabbing, swimming/camping spots and that the 4WD tracks are great and can become challenging in the wet – all of this appeals to our familys’ lifestyle.

Tell us about your family? I bring to Nhulunbuy my daughter Kate (8 years old) and will be starting in year 3 at NCC and my husband Herbie (who is in the process of completing a degree in social work and hopes to work with indigenous communities in the near future in Nhulunbuy).

What's your earliest childhood memory? My earliest childhood memories are summer holidays spent with my family where we would explore the great outdoors in Scotland’s hills and valleys and travelling to the scenic Highlands with its many Lochs. I guess this is when a love of nature was first installed in me and why I wanted to study the natural sciences.

What did you want to be when you were little? I guess I wasn’t sure what I wanted to be, but I knew I enjoyed discovering new things about the world around me and exploring outdoors and hence why I became a science teacher, as I wanted to share my love of nature and science with others.

What was your favourite toy as a child? My favourite toy was my bicycle – I loved exploring the countryside together with my family on mountain biking expeditions.

What do you love most about teaching? There is a lot I love about teaching. It is one of those jobs that keeps your brain young and allows you to continue your own journey as a student and a lifelong learner. I love being a part of people’s lives and to help them discover. I realise that being a teacher is about making an impact or impression on your students lives and they in turn pass it along to their own children is some way, shape or form. It is a great challenge as it involves a life of service to others. It is also great fun as we explore new opportunities and challenges together.

What do you and your family like to do in your spare time? Outdoor activities. It’s one of the reasons we wanted to come to Nhulunbuy.

Do you have a favourite motto or bible verse? My favourite bible verse is the Good Samaritan Luke 10:25-37. It teaches us that we should be the right type of neighbour to all of those around us by showing mercy and compassion to everyone.

If you had a day to yourself, what would you do? Taking time for yourself in a busy life is important to me. My favourite ‘Me’ time activities include: listening to relaxing music, watching a family comedy movie, cooking ‘Italian style’ and sharing some fine food with friends.

What makes you laugh? I guess being with other people who make me laugh is the best way to make me laugh. Watching comedies together as a family and dancing to the theme song. Watching my daughter Kate make silly faces and also listening to her laugh (she has such a great laugh), and listening to people being creative.

What was the last thing you ate? Last thing I ate was a homemade zucchini, bacon and cheese muffin – very yummy!Would you bungee jump? Yes. Who was the last person you spoke with on the phone? My husband. Favourite colour? Green – the colour of nature

The Book Mark

“Be awesome! Be a book nut!” — Dr. Seuss

Lava Lamp experiment!The year 7/8 Science class with Mrs Ros Marino discovered that how a lava lamp works is all science, and when you understand the science behind it, it’s easy to make your own lava lamp. During this fun experiment students learned about density, solubility and chemical reactions; and this is an easy experiment they can show to their friends at home.

Congratulations! Our local police ran a school bike helmet program from the 10th December last year and some of our students were recognized at the Police Station this week for their commitment to road safety.

Well done to the following students for representing our school and displaying good leadership amongst the community.

Aidan PIPER 12 yrs

Clancy BRENNAN 9 yrs

Jack KIRBY 13 yrs

Zavier DENTITH 9 yrs

Emma MULDOON 10 yrs

Max PARFITT 10 yrs

Shelbie FRANCIS 7 yrs

Our school Book Club starts next Tuesday in the Library at lunch time - Hooray! This is a Book Club for primary students where there will be reading and activities- the emphasis is on fun and enjoying literature. If you haven’t brought your form in yet - don’t worry, just bring it in on Monday.

Our wonderful Librarian Mrs Jan Louttit is running a Library classes competition. The students have been looking at stories connected with beaches, including Aboriginal narratives by Oodgeroo (Kath Walker), an Indigenous poet and author from Stradbroke Island. The object of the competition is for students to correctly name the countries from all over the world where a list of beaches are found. Students received the list today (Friday) and there will be a prize for Year 2/3 and for Year 4/5/6. The first correct entry wins the prize. Good Luck!

Mrs Louttit would like to thank all the students coming in to use the Library during the lunch hour and a special thank you to the parents who’ve covered books. If anyone would like to help out with shelving once a week, perhaps on a Friday that would be a big help.

The Year 5/6 class has enjoyed the story of Quetta in their Library lesson (even though there were lots of sad bits!) They’ve been very enthusiastic and busy researching more facts about the Quetta shipwreck in the Torres Strait in 1890.

The best borrowing classes so far this year have been Year 3 and Transition - well done! Just a friendly reminder that students in Primary need a book bag in order to borrow and overdue books need to be returned before a new one is taken out. Keep up the good work though!

We would love to continue Chess in the Library this year- but sadly our Chess ‘parent’ John Terpstra has moved back to Perth - so if you could help tutor our students how to play chess that would be fabulous! Thanks everyone. jan.louttit@ntschools.net

How great thou Art

The students are exploring communities, so we started looking at stars.  Our galaxy is a big community of

stars.  Students used fingerprinting onto plastic and then pressed paper onto the paint to get their

monoprint of stars.

Mrs Kylie Farnsworth Art Teacher

“I like my shading of my stars” by Scarlett Eastwood

“I like my satellite dish” by Harry Gray

“I like my asteroid and shooting stars” by Jed Atkinson

“I like the shapes of my stars” by Finnlay McDonald

Want to know more?... Monoprinting is a form of printmaking that has images or lines that can only be made once, unlike most printmaking, where there are

multiple originals. No two prints are alike and the beauty of this medium is also in its spontaneity and its

combination of printmaking, painting and drawing media. We love your work Year 1!

Some work from our

Year 1 Artists

‘Four’ she’s a golfing Champ! Going to the Alice Springs Junior Golf Open in January this year, was a great experience because I met and played against interstate golfers. It was good to catch-up with the Palmerston NT Mid-year Clinic girls. It was great seeing the Professionals again and Pro coach Corinne Dibnah gave me some great tips that helped me play a better game. Even though the weather was extremely hot, I played my personal best score on the first comp day. Dad was my caddy and it was fun traveling together to play golf.

School Crossing – interest in a paid positionFor a while now we’ve been considering making the School Crossing guard a paid position. We are the only state/territory in Australia where the local council don’t pay for a School Crossing service and so we feel we need to take matters into our own hands for the safety of our children.

If you are interested in this position, ask for more information at the front office and pick up a non-teaching application.

I was happy because I achieved all my goals and had a lot of fun. This included winning the Under 12 Girls Gross Trophy two years in a row and lowering my golf handicap. I hope that next year I can still defend my title. By Katelyn Rika (Year 6)

In Middle School Drama the students have been making

masks and learning about expressing

emotions with their faces and body

language. The photo on the left shows the

emotion ‘yearning’.

iLove our iPad roll outIt was difficult to tell just who was more excited with the iPad roll out this week - parents or students. I.T. expert Peter Kent flew in from Darwin (N.T.C.S.A.) to help out with the parent information sessions on Wednesday and Thursday. The roll out has been a huge undertaking this year and we want to thank Jan Louttit, Christine Westerveek van Eertem, Jo Duncan, Kylie Whyte, Steve Venour, Peter Kent and Sandra Brazier in particular for putting so much effort and extra hours into the launch of the iPad program this year.

COLLEGE AND COMMUNITY NOTICE BOARD

Every Friday morning8 – 9am

Come along and enjoy a coffee with other parents in the school library to ensure a great start to your day

and a pleasant end to your week!

Can you help out in the Library?

Our Library Teacher, Mrs Louttit is looking for someone to help with shelving, perhaps once a

week on a Friday.

School AssembliesAt the beginning and end of each term we

have an all-in Assembly with the entire school, but every Wednesday the Primary

students meet in the School Library for their weekly Assembly from 1.50pm -2.30pm and

you’re very welcome to come along. The Middle School students have their Assembly

at the same time but in the Year 5/6 classroom. See you there!

NCL Markets are on again!Saturday 23rd February, at the Town

Hall from 9am-12 pm. The Host Group for this market is the Arafura Dance

Association.

Some of our creative Middle School girls marked Valentine’s Day giving Free Hugs!

Parents and Friends Meeting Everyone welcome!

Tuesday 19th FebruaryCollege Staffroom 7.30 pm

Everyone is welcome to come along to our first Parents & Friends meeting of

the year.

Join us to hear a little more about how you can be a part of the P & F at our

school - it’s a lot of fun and this group of people make such a difference to

our College and to our children’s experience of school as a result.

Hope to see you there! For more information, call Kylie Whyte in our

office (08) 8987 2187