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In this issue

Early Start Discovery Space 3

Student Representative Council 2016, Induction Ceremony 4 - 5

A Message from our Student Leaders Vice-Captain Speech 6

A Message from our Student Leaders Captain Speech 7

Prep and Year 2 Celebration 8

Year 6 Celebration 9

Year 10 Celebration 10

Slum Survivor 11

Year 10 Service Trip to Woolaning 12 - 15

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Year 7 Science, Parachute Project 17

Stage 2 Go Back in Time 18 - 19

K - 2 PCYC Excursion 20

Infants/Primary Gardens 20

Numeracy Amazing Race 21

ICS Isotopes Demonstration Day Out 22 - 23

Long Serving Staff 24

Service to Staff 25

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Year 11 Business Studies and Hospitality 26

Stephen Jones Award Winner - Secondary Recipient 27

Year 8 Visual Arts 28 - 29

Touch Gala Day 30

K - 6 Interest and Expert Groups Assembly 31

Stand Tall Event 32

Christmas Tree Decorating 33

End of Year Celebration - 34 - 35

K - 6 Engineering and Construction Group 36 - 37

Good Stewardship (Year 6 Art) 38 - 39

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Early Start Discovery Space In preparation for 2016, Year 2 and Year 3 students participated in an excursion to the Early Start Discovery Space together. Next year, they will be Stage 2 and will have an opportunity to be leaders for P-4 activities.

The students enjoyed their visit to this hands-on learning venue. They explored and experienced archaeology, construction, a

and again so they could activate the sounds of the digestive system. Some students also explored the digital lab, the pod and the creativity space. They all had fun in the discovery gardens, just before eating lunch and returning to school.

Mrs Barnes and Mrs Morton would like to thank the parent helpers

who drove and helped supervise students on this excursion. It was a wonderful opportunity to partner together.

Mrs Barnes

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Student Representative Council 2016,

Induction Ceremony

On Monday, 16 November, the recently elected members of the 2016 Student Representative Council, were inducted at a special assembly. In addition, outgoing student council members, including 2014 President Natalie Cunzolo, were officially thanked for their hard work over the previous twelve months.

We ask for your prayers for the incoming student council, that they might lead effectively and honour Christ as they serve the school community.

The new Student Council for 2016 are as follows:

Liam Brown President

Mr Hol and Mrs Brennan Student Representative Council Coordinators

As part of the induction ceremony, Liam Brown, the Student

Council President, gave the following address:

Good morning parents, teachers and students. I would first like to begin by expressing how greatly I am honoured and privileged to be accepting this position today. As a member of the 2015 Student Council, I would like to thank Natalie Cunzolo, for all the hard work she put into being the President. We did not only work under her, we worked alongside her. She was always so caring and compassionate, and really cared about the direction of the school.

Those are some big shoes to fill. But, I would like to thank you Natalie for, whether you knew it or not, preparing me as much as possible to take on the position myself. I have learned a lot from you over the past year, and you were the first person to really make me start thinking about a vision for the school. So, from an incoming President to an outgoing President, I would like to say thank you and ask you to pray for support. I am going to need it.

So, in case you missed it, my name is Liam Brown. I am currently coming toward the end of Year 10 and I am preparing to attend our

attending this wonderful school since Kindergarten, I have been graced with many opportunities to put the gifts that God has given me into practice. One of those was the Student Council; receiving a method to put forward my own voice about the school. In that day, I thought that Student

Naomi Boulton - Year 12 Representative Summer Ivanovic - Year 8 Representative

Karah Knight - Year 11 Representative Grace Kennedy - Year 7 Representative

Joshua Robinson - Year 10 Representative Cameron Beddoe - Year 6 Representative

Thomas Knight - Year 9 Representative Alexander Gregory - Year 5 Representative

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Council was just a place to have some conversations about school stuff and raise some money. I

we should be representing the Student Body as a whole, not just our own desires. This view was

our peers, then we will be just a special group of people talking about school stuff, using solely our own ideas. The 2015 Student Council started to try and improve this communication but I want to take it further. As a part of my vision, I would like to see that before the end of this year, I want to have implemented, or have begun to implement, a successful communication method between the

the 2016 Student Council, is to make your schooling experience the best possible, and this can only work if you, as students, have your say.

So looking forward to 2016, what can you expect? As I just mentioned, our goal is to make your schooling experience the best possible. In my vision, I see us doing that in two ways: short-term influences, such as one-day events; and long-term influences. I personally have ideas, the new Student Council will have ideas, but my vision includes you guys, you and your voices. My vision for

through listening to what you want. We want your ideas, we want to know what you think needs to change. There is one

thing determining whether this vision is successful or not, and that is how willing you are to share

your opinions. So start thinking!

One thing that has significantly changed already is that, due to a variety of reasons, the Student Council no longer supports a sponsor child. This however, has provided the Student Council the ability to pick and choose where the money we raise is being invested into, instead of just methodically raising money for a sponsor child just to tick a box at the end of the year. This still means that if the Student Council and the Student Body believes that funds should be donated to a foundation for any reason that this will still be possible. This has given the Council the ability to make the greatest impact both in the school and in the world, so I am personally excited for that

particular opportunity.

I have a big vision for 2016, but I do not know what exactly will turn out from next year. I believe that promises are not something to think about lightly, so I will not stand here and make any promises that I cannot keep. I will only promise you this: I will listen to you. If nobody else will, I will listen to

to me talk for five minutes, so I am pretty sure you know what I look like by now. Walk up to me; tell

my first priority that every student is getting their voice heard, because if they are not, the

goal for the Student Council will be pointless.

I want to leave you with a bible verse before I leave. It talks about standing tall and setting an example in your entire life. It is from 1 Timothy 4:12, you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in life, in

I hope for big things in this next year; I hope you are too.

2016 Student Council

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A message from our Student Leaders School Vice-

Good morning parents, teachers and students. I am very honoured to have been given the position of Vice-Captain, and I pray that God will use me in various ways as I take advantage of the opportunities He has

I go about everyday life. I am excited to be working alongside Sandy, supporting and encouraging him in his role.

What I like about our school:

The small year groups, so good, close friendships

Caring teachers who invest into our lives

Wonderful natural environment

Why I ran for Vice-Captain:

Thought it would be a good opportunity

Provides more opportunities to represent the school and stand up for what I believe

Keeps me accountable with my actions and words, as I am a role model for others

What my faith means for me:

It gives my life a purpose, and puts my life into perspective

Allows me to focus on others rather than myself because I know

Hope for 2016:

God will work through me, into the lives of those around me

I will be given opportunities to share my faith and encourage

others

Sandy and I will be unified and stay accountable to one another

I am really excited to see where God leads us over the next year, and I

pray that I will honour Him and be an honourable representative of all

of you and our school in all situations I am placed in.

Eden Williams

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pleasure and privilege to take over the role of School Captain from Sam Cuthbertson for the remainder of

now Tongarra has always been my home! Over the years I have loved developing relationships with many

the next year. The Christian influence that is so evident in all areas of school has gone a long was to growing me in my faith! The care and compassion that the teachers have shown is something I am very grateful for,

There are so many things I am thankful to this school for, the excellent education, the great sporting opportunities, but what I am most thankful for is the Christian role modelling and mentorship of the teachers.

and vice-captain that this school has had and they did a really great job serving us in that way. Both Sam and

Ashleigh were very approachable and they displayed an active love for Jesus in how they conducted

but Eden and I will try our hardest to match the standard they set so highly this year. But being a leader -hearted. And what

better example of servant-heartedness do we have than Jesus. He was well and truly deserving of our worship and praise and yet he made himself nothing in order to serve us. So with Gods help, Eden and I will

try our best to serve you in a similar manner.

Colossians 3:12-14 says 12

compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. 13 Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. 14 And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.

These verses are very important for us as Christians. God has shown us unconditional love and grace, so we

as Christians have should desire to reciprocate this same love to the people around us. Again I believe that we should look to Jesus as the ultimate model of this. He gave up his life for not only his friends but his

wants us to live.

Both Eden and I are very passionate about developing good school community and promoting unity as children of God. And I know I can speak on behalf of not only myself but Eden when I say that we are really happy to talk to you guys. We want for you guys to feel comfortable to come and

come and talk to us just because we are seniors or because we are older.

around the school and give you that opportunity to come and say hey.

I feel very Honoured to be accepting this position today and I wanted to

the duties of Captain and Vice-Captain. It should be a wonderful year and I am really excited to see what God has in store for us as a school.

Thank you

Sandy Lowcock

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Prep and Year 2 Celebration

On Friday, 4 December Prep and Year 2 celebrated with songs and a certificate presentation to mark the significant stages that they have reached in their learning. During the celebration, Prep-Year 2 students

signed keywords as they sang. Prep entertained the audience with a slide show of their thoughts on what they would like to be when they grow up. Year 2 amused the guests with memoirs and a slide show

The celebration concluded with afternoon tea for the guests and a party for P-2 students. Thank you to all of

the families that contributed to, or attended this celebration. It was a wonderful time for all.

Mrs Barnes P-2 Coordinator

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Year 6 Celebration

On Friday 4 December, Year 6 students celebrated the completion of primary school, with a graduation assembly, followed by morning tea with family members and guests. After giving an address, Dr Bertram presented Year 6 with their Graduation Certificates. Councillor Peter Moran attended and presented Grace Kennedy with the Shellharbour Community Service Award, and Joel Jabbour and Alicia Rowe with the Bev Whitfield Award for outstanding achievement in swimming. Mrs Morton presented Alicia Rowe with the Rotary Citizenship Award and Patrick Schubert was given the Stephen Jones Active Citizenship Award. School Awards were also presented to the

following students:

Anna Imisides -Achievement in Learning

Alicia Rowe - Christian Living

Sabastian Vidler and Jessica Lamanna Encouragement Award

Jasmine Hall and Darcey Wagemans Service to the School Community

Thank you to Year 5 families for catering for the morning tea, and thank you to all of the guests that attended and made this a memorable occasion for the students.

Stephen Jones Active Citizenship Award

Shellharbour City Council Community Award

Beverly Whitfield Swimming Award

Rotary Citizenship Award

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Year 10 Celebration

On Friday, 4 December, Year 10 celebrated their achievements and reflected on their school

experience to date. The morning involved a devotion and reflection on the year. The devotion was on Ephesians 1: 15-23 and focused on thanks and encouragement. Year 10 then split into boy and girl groups, and encouraged each other sharing admirable characteristics that they appreciate about one another. Students received character awards from the teachers before viewing a slideshow and video of their experiences at Woolaning Christian School, during service week and Care and Compassion week.

For lunch, students enjoyed authentic wood fired pizza. This was a real treat, and everyone enjoyed

This is a trailer housing different consoles and featuring games such as FIFA (soccer) and Car Racing. Students had a relaxing afternoon playing games together as well as drawing, talking and dancing to music.

The whole day was an extremely positive experience where students appreciated their schooling, their class mates and the world that God created. They look forward to what the future holds, whether that be further study in their senior years at school, or in the workforce.

Mr Walker

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Slum Survivor

Students from Years 9 and 10 participated in Slum Survivor on 26-27 November. Slum Survivor is an experience initially created by TEAR Fund, in which students are to live under certain conditions, which tries to replicate what millions of people around the world experience every day of their lives.

As part of Slum Survivor, students had to be resourceful in building a shelter to sleep overnight in, walk to the Macquarie Rivulet to collect water carrying it back to school and perform common jobs done for employment in developing countries. All this was done while functioning on two basic

meals of rice and beans each day.

While some wild and windy weather inhibited the building of shelters on Thursday afternoon, many of the girls are commended for their perseverance and construction of some impressive shelters.

In reflecting on Slum Survivor, numerous students have recognised the intent of this experience.

responses:

Slum Survivor was a new experience because I learnt how lots of other people feel our .

Slum Survivor was interesting because even though walking to the river and building the slum was hard, it was interesting to do these things since they are different to what we do in our every day lives. It was also interesting to realise that people have to do this every single moment,

people can live their whole life like this].

Slum Survivor was like child abuse because I was constantly hungry.

Slum Survivor was tiring because we were forced to do labour.

Mr Graham

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On Friday, 20 November, twenty-two Year 10 students, three ICS staff and two additional husband/

, and one that held lots of firsts...First plane trip for some, first visit to the Northern Territory for many, first encounter with indigenous students for most of us, as well as providing a very close up look at nature, including cane toads - a definite first encounter for most of the group!

About fourteen hours after seeing the sunrise over Tongarra, we made it to Woolaning Homeland Christian College, set on the edge of the spectacular Litchfield National Park. The week ahead was full of promise as we hauled ourselves to bed late in the night. The air-conditioned bedrooms and classrooms were to provide the best retreat from the relentless heat and heightened humidity over

the coming days.

After a weekend of fabulous sight-seeing opportunities and a 16th birthday celebration for one of our students, and a house parent morning tea, were prepared. Craft and sport opportunities were set up for the live-in students after school. Classroom help and many cleaning rosters were implemented, as our students enthusiastically immersed themselves in all the Woolaning community life. Then of course, there was the sweating, the consumption of litres of water and the Zooper Doopers...followed by the afternoon relief of swimming! Several spectacular waterholes were visited, often accompanied by a bus load of Woolaning students as local guides. Many of us were

tempted to stay on indefinitely, and all were reluctant to board the buses a week after our arrival.

Throughout the Woolaning experience, the students were very aware of the many blessings that God provided. Each day started and finished with a devotion planned by Mr Batten. Evenings ended in a debrief led by the Pastoral team. Some days were highlighted by worship in song, led by Mr Kerr and a talented band of ICS students. Thursday, Friday and Saturday evening,

God provided the entertainment with some spectacular storm activity to herald the start of the wet season! Lightning ripped the horizon, and our buses and accommodation trembled, but we were in safe hands!

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$2000 worth of groceries later, and about twenty-servings, plus or minus a few snacks and some takeaways) we have returned to our families and our own beds. Through service and some adversity, many of our students have gained a heightened appreciation of our awesome God. Many have been personally challenged in their relationship with the Jesus of our parable studies - the Servant King. Together, we are thankful to have shared in this awesome opportunity as Year 10, 2015.

Mrs Batten, Commanding Officer

Mr Walker, Publicity Officer

Mrs Kerr, Kitchen Operations

(AKA the Year 10 Pastoral Team)

Student comments:

Karah I learned that service is a continuous thing and isn't about selfishness. All things can be

done through the power of prayer.

Liam I loved that ICS students could share their faith with a completely new culture.

Monica I loved all the beautiful people we got to meet; enjoyed making new friendships and seeing old relationships getting closer. (And the water was pretty awesome, too!!)

Jack - It was great to see everyone so happy and gelling together as a group.

Zac - Being able to serve the community up in Woolaning was greatly rewarding.

Shiarna It was amazing to meet new people and see new scenery.

Luke B The climate was very different, but it was great meeting new people and listening to their

stories.

Tayla I enjoyed developing relationships with the indigenous girls.

Amanda I definitely grew in my faith.

Ben It was great to grow together in friendship.

The Service Trip by Shiarna S

My time in the Northern Territory was an unforgettable sequence of rewarding

and bright personalities of the indigenous kids, as they welcomed us into their community.

climate, practicing to serve others before myself, learning to live with my classmates 24/7 for ten whole days, and living away from home WITHOUT RECEPTION or WIFI, were certainly a

challenge. Then there was swimming in the most beautiful waterfalls and rock pools, bonding and building of relationships with my class mates and teachers, and serving the community, was lots of fun. The absolutely stunning scenery, from the dry red dust to the crystal blue ocean with a majestic sunset above, remains imprinted in my memory creating one of the best experiences of my life!

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Woolaning Visit 2015.....(continued)

The Service Trip by Katherine B

We all knew going to Darwin, would mean that we would be selflessly serving the students, teachers and community at Woolaning Homeland Christian College. What we did not realise, is the feeling of joy you get out of helping those who need our help, or those who are ignored by the rest of society. I personally expected to be uncomfortable entering a remote community with a different culture, especially one that was in such a hot environment. The challenges I was facing seemed minuscule, when I took into consideration the helpfulness of our work and service. This service trip proved to be extremely beneficial for both myself and my fellow classmates, as we saw

God answer our prayers and give us strength to endure each challenge, and abundantly bless us with new friendships. I would like to thank our teachers for providing me with the opportunity to visit the beautiful people at Woolaning, and for helping me strengthen my faith in God.

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The Service Trip by Mr Walker

The students were there to serve the school in any way possible and were put to good use. They all prepared memory verses, devotions and testimonies to share, and were able to share their faith explicitly many times and in many ways throughout the week. They cleaned two houses and made them ready for new staff members at the school to move into. This was no mean feat if you saw the state the houses were in. The students did other maintenance work, helped scribe written documents, made quilts and assisted in the classrooms.

In the classrooms, students worked alongside the indigenous students helping them to read, write and understand mathematics. Furthermore, students built solid relationships with the students

and became good friends, bonding through many and varied sporting matches.

intense. To counter this, students went swimming at the local water holes each day and this was a

evident at these places. Below is a photo of the group at Wongi Falls, our regular swimming hole. The last few days were spent near Darwin relaxing and being tourists. These were fun filled days and were a great time of excitement and relaxation for all. During this time, we went to a water park, wave pool, zoo and crocodile park.

All students came away from the trip having learnt lots about our indigenous culture and heritage,

grown in maturity, experienced many new things, gained appreciation for the lives and choices we have here, and being challenged in many and various ways. It was a safe and exciting trip. Thank you for your prayers along the way. Please continue to pray for Woolaning Homeland Christian School, as they work with indigenous communities to give their students an education and a solid knowledge of God.

Disclaimer we are not permitted to publically share photos of the Woolaning Indigenous students.....although we have lots we can show you, personally!

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Chocolate, Coconut and Lamingtons everywhere

Friday, 6 November saw a flurry of activity in the Studio at school. Sixteen mums and grandmas worked together to make 1, 326 yummy lamingtons. There were jobs for everyone, from mixing up the icing, cutting the cakes, covering them in chocolate icing, coating in coconut, folding boxes, and packaging them up ready for collection.

Through the work of these wonderful women, we raised $735. All of the money was donated to Operation Christmas Child, to contribute to the postage of the shoeboxes. One of our mums, Ann Monie, organised the shoeboxes from donations given by our school students.

Many thanks to the following women for giving your time, energy and enthusiasm on the day Andrea Lowcock, Nerralea van der Merwe (& Archie), Christine Smith, Kylie Upton (Jesse and

Matthew), Melissa Robb (and Lara), Nadeen Dempsey, Bernadette Byron (and Esther), Mary Turk (and Melanie), Kelie Strecker, Liz Webster (and Noa), Michelle Mansfield, Erin Price (and Jaden), Ruth Williams and Lyn Brown you were lots of fun to work with, and made a big job enjoyable.

A big thank you to those of you who collected orders from others,

town! We appreciate your work and trust of us.

We had such a fun time that we might make it an annual event, so

Joanne deJong and Kylie Williams (on behalf of the Tongarra Campus Committee/Tongarra Parents and Friends)

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Year 7 Science, Parachute Project

This term, Year 7 has completed a parachute design project. This involved designing a small scale parachute in the lab, and then up-scaling their successful design to carry an egg safely to the ground from E Block balcony.

Congratulations to all students for their diligence and application to a new challenge. Well done to Joseph Strecker, Sarah Fitzgerald and Mia-Rose Harris, for their winning design. Well done to everyone.

Mr Imisides

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Stage 2 Go Back in Time

On Wednesday, 28 October, Stage 2 students travelled to Elizabeth Farm and Experimental Farm Cottage in Parramatta, in order to experience colonial life. The visit was the

students the opportunity to have first-hand experience of life as a convict in 1828.

Students enjoyed planting corn, cooking scones, doing laundry,

direction of convict overseers. Here is what they had to say...

Breigh Middleton (Yr. 3)

Emily Hudson (Yr. 3)

Boaz Monie (Yr 3.)

Jack Tate (Yr 3.)

Adah Hayman (Yr.4)

I liked it when we got to dress up in the clothes and the straw hat. The

Malachie Monie (Yr. 4)

It was a pleasure to take the Stage 2 students on this excursion, as they

were very well behaved at both venues and in the bus. The bus driver commented on their exemplary behaviour, as did the staff at both venues. Well done Stage 2!

Mrs Morton & Mrs Rodwell

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K - 2 PCYC Excursion This term, the Infants students had a fantastic opportunity to go on an excursion to Illawarra PCYC to learn about Bike Education. The students and staff had an enjoyable day learning about the importance of wearing a helmet, following the road and path rules, reading signs, crossing the road with a bike as well as riding a bike safely.

The students thoroughly enjoyed riding their bike around the track near PCYC. For some students, it was the first time they rode a bike, and it was wonderful to see students persevere with learning

to ride as well as encouraging each other to keep trying.

Miss Yeo

Infants/Primary Gardens This term, Infants and Primary students have enjoyed having vegetable gardens near the infants rooms. Students in Interest and Expert Groups assisted with looking after the gardens and watching the produce grow. It has been great wonderful to see students enjoy eating the

vegetables and fruit that have grown this term.

eating our strawberries were two gorgeous little girls who are siblings to infants students.

Thank you to those who assisted with planting, weeding and looking after our gardens.

If you would like to work alongside our students next year

by assisting with the gardens outside H block, please contact Mrs Barnes (P-4 Coordinator).

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Numeracy Amazing Race

Year 7 went on a Mathematics excursion on Friday, 20th November. The first half of the excursion went to the University of Wollongong's Science Centre and Planetarium, where we investigated how science and mathematics relate,

including mathematics in astronomy and navigation. We also participated in a workshop about famous mathematicians and the history of mathematics. The student accounts commence

at lunchtime at Shellharbour Hungry Jacks...

MATHS EDITION

Mr. Babbage got out 5 crisp, white envelopes, giving one to each group. Most of us were determined, while others were too busy eating their food. Team 1 was in poll position on the way to

to their first destination. Each team had to answer mathemati-cal questions (related to shopping) at a variety of locations around the square. Team 1, who had the upper hand, was head-

ing straight to the closest challenge. Mr. Babbage sneakily picking on individual students with some of the ques-tions, like one about blue hair dye and another about doc mar-

tins *wink wink, nudge nudge*. While the teams and their adult referees were running around like chooks with their heads cut off, Mr. Babbage was being a lazy lounge lizard at a Café doing

his extra work.

Head to head team one and team three, both had completed all 12 'maths challenges' within the hour time frame. This was it. The final face off. A bonus question had been made for extra points to win the first place medal. Both teams were strategi-cally doing the maths to work out this final question. Team one

and three both had the same amount of points accomplishing the bonus question, but it all came down to time. Team one fin-ished 2 minutes before team three. Little did team one know, team three came back to see Mr. Babbage for something they

tion today www.teamthree4thewin.com).

Written by Lily and Sarah, Year 7

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ICS Isotopes Demonstration Day Out

On Friday, 13 November the ISC Isotopes demonstrated at three schools for the Heart Foundation. The schools were very excited to have them visit and were waiting with anticipation for the day to arrive, as the team had been unable to visit in Term 3 due to poor weather conditions.

When the day finally arrived, there was a buzz of excitement and nervousness amongst the team. Their first demonstration for the day was at Good Samaritan Catholic School, at Fairy Meadow. After negotiating the best place to perform, the team got on with the job of setting up, and the

students gathered around the performance area. Rows and rows of children joined the crowd, until finally there were close to 540 students ready to watch the performance. The team performed exceptionally well, and the Principal of Good Samaritan, praised their skills and manners. We have visited this school before, and have been invited to return when the school does the Jump Rope for Heart Program. Feedback from the Heart Foundation for this visit was fantastic. The students were inspired to improve their skipping skills, and were still talking about the amazing skipping skills of the team, long after the visit.

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The second school that the Isotopes visited, was Figtree Heights Public School. The crowd was a little smaller, with just over 200 students in the audience. Out of the three schools visited, Figtree Heights was the most enthusiastic and responsive audience. The team members were encouraged by the audience. After the demonstration, the Isotopes stayed to watch students from Figtree Heights perform some tricks that they had learnt during their Jump Rope for Heart Program.

The rain poured down as the Isotopes headed to Amity College, the final school for the day. Fortunately, they had a small hall. The school had been so disappointed when the team had not been able to demonstrate in Term 3, and staff and students were extremely excited to have us visit.

Our 2014 team had performed for them, and our 2015 team did not disappoint. They had new songs, new routines and more complex tricks to demonstrate. Again, the principal was most impressed. For the whole school to see the Isotopes, the team put on two performances, one directly after the other. That was a great feat for the afternoon performing such a high impact work out twice, after performing it at two previous schools.

The highlights for the audiences were: cartwheel into Double Dutch, Double Unders, the Pretzel, the Umbrella, and Mrs Barnes skipping in Double Dutch with Harry.

The Heart Foundation has appreciated the work of the 2015 ICS skipping team and has invited us to

demonstrate for them again in 2016. Miss Yeo and I have now selected a new team to work with in 2016. We look forward to this service opportunity, working with the new team as we perform for the Heart Foundation promoting Jump Rope For Heart.

Mrs Barnes

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Long Serving Staff

Recently, some of our dedicated staff members across both campuses were awarded their Ten Year Service Award. All have served ten years (and counting!) at Illawarra Christian School. Well done and thank you for all that you do!

Back row, Left to right: Jo Fahey, Diane Johnson, Evelyn Meek, Beth Shaw, Phil Pratt, Cathy Wade, Megan Engel, Cheryl Brennan, Shelley Whitelock Front row, left to right: Bruce Price, Linda Scherlowski, Jill Del La Torre

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Our Year 6 student, Anna Imisides, entered a design for a Christmas card that responded to the theme, "The Meaning of Christmas". Her design was selected by the NSW Premier to adorn the front of Mr Gareth Ward's cards this year. Congratulations, Anna!

Service to the staff

During service week, one of our Year 10 students, Richard Touch, ran a café for the staff at Tongarra. Richard had previously completed the barista course at school and was keen to use his newly acquired skills to serve the staff. He came highly recommended by the course teacher, Mr Babbage.

Richard did a revision course at the beginning of the week, and then started making coffees to order, each morning. A minimal fee was charged to cover costs, and Richard chose to donate the profit of $55 to Woolaning Homeland Christian School, in the Northern

and he received great feedback including cards and compliments. One comment that stood out

Richard enjoyed the experience and it has motivated him into now finding out more about running a café as a business.

Mrs Knight

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Year 11 Business Studies and Hospitality

visit Australian Beverage Corporation

On Monday, 16 November, Year 11 Hospitality and Business Studies students visited Australian Beverage Corporation, which owns Delano Coffee. We learned about the transformation processes involved in changing green coffee

beans into roasted coffee beans, the global sourcing of green coffee beans, the difference between different coffee certifications, and the advantages and disadvantages of sourcing beans directly from a farm. We also observed the roasting facilities, and noted some changes that have occurred in recent months, including the installation of new silos to allow for split roasting

of coffee blends. We saw the more advanced

technology that has been purchased recently, and learned about the benefits of this. Students had the opportunity to learn the basics of coffee cupping and differentiate the various flavours.

Overall, students learned a lot that they can apply back to their HSC studies in the classroom.

Mrs Evans, Hospitality and Mrs Brennan, Business Studies

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Stephen Jones Award Winner 2015 Secondary Recipient - Holly Waples

Holly has been engaged in the learning of Civics and Citizenship and feels an intense responsibility to uphold the values of democracy. She has a strong social conscience and actively stands up for, and speaks for, those who are unable to do so themselves.

Holly has been involved in a number of activities that have seen her engage with members of the community and politicians discussing many important issues. For example, the roles of youth in society and the importance of political representation. This was most clearly evident in her partaking in the State Constitutional Convention at State Parliament. Holly was afforded the

opportunity to discuss many important issues with parliamentarians and students from many other schools.

Holly is passionate about the role of women in society and the need for more attention being given to raising young women to reach their potential. She is a strong advocate for social change through democratic means, and desires for those in underprivileged communities to be afforded the opportunities she has been granted.

Holly was a prime candidate for this award as she endeavours to promote fairness and equality within both the school and wider community, and desires to better herself, and by extension, the

world in which she lives.

Mr J Nicholls

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Year 8 Visual Arts

showing real maturity and enthusiasm for their learning (as long as I keep the music playing in the background). As artists, they have matured and grown in their abilities to interpret their world visually.

Below are a series of images of their Ceramic Heads that were designed with a focus on interesting

headwear. This is always a popular unit amongst the students.

political and social issues that impact on Indigenous Australians today. By studying the differing philosophies between the Western traditions of art making compared to the Indigenous philosophy

Through contemporary Indigenous artists, students learnt about the past policies of Segregation,

The Stolen Generation, Stolen Wages and Deaths in Custody. Hopefully, you can see how these issues have been represented by the students.

Included are some artworks Liam Ranzi, created in clay inspired by traditional Aboriginal mark making and patterns.

forgiveness fosters healing when applied to day to day life here on earth. Students are currently responding with Reconciliation posters.

Mrs Gillett, Art Teacher

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Touch Gala Day Tuesday, 1 December saw Tongarra secondary students represent the school in the Zone Touch Football Championships. Under intense heat (peaking at 35°C) and trying conditions, our school made it to three of the four finals played that day, and eventually won the senior boys division winning the final 5 1.

The students had prepared very well for the tournament and each team had worked hard during the training sessions, which led to committed and disciplined performances on the field. Our students had trained through both rain and high heat, which enabled them to perform well to the conditions.

The junior boys lost their final in a tight game, which unfortunately had them coachless because all finals were played at the same time. The junior girls lost their final to Cordeaux, a brave effort, as they went the whole day a player down.

The senior boys were undefeated throughout the tournament, and showed some amazing displays of quality touch football, which left the opposition completely outclassed. This team (with minimal changes) achieved this result last year as well, so the team is to be highly commended for its commitment to playing fast, sharp and quality touch football.

Special mention must go to the following students who performed exceptionally on the day to be named in their respective representative teams to play at the state tournament in Coffs Harbour next year.

Mr Graham and Mrs Gold, were also in attendance in various organisational and coaching capacities. Mr Graham selected, and will coach, the senior boys touch team in Coffs Harbour.

The school should be proud of all of the players from ICS Tongarra, who represented in a committed and pleasing way. They were focused for the whole day, stayed on site and were not

energy intakes well. I would personally like to thank and congratulate them all on a powerful display of team diligence and effort. Well done Tongarra.

Your proud coach,

Mr Hol

Senior Boys Senior Girls Junior Boys Junior Girls

Sandy Lowcock Drusilla Moala Jacob Hudson Mikayla de Jong

Mitchell Imisides Jeremiah Jabbour Summer Ivanovic

Isaac Hudson

Adam Chittick

Jeremiah Lothian

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K - 6 Interest & Expert Groups Assembly

On Friday, 11 December, parents were invited to celebrate the Interest & Expert Groups K-6 students have been enjoying throughout the term.

In Choir, students have been using their voices to praise God through a number of songs. They have

listening to each other and think about how they are part of a bigger group.

students have enjoyed making grass heads and watching them grow. They have observed our vegetables grow as they watered and weeded our gardens. Students had the opportunity to photograph God's amazing creation here at school. Mr Dee Kramer has very kindly given us some of his time as he has been assisting students with their photography skills. Students have edited their photos and have created some amazing images

In Stop Motion animation, the group enjoyed the activity and worked brilliantly in pairs and groups of three

designing their movies. The most amazing thing to us as teachers was how quickly the group learnt to use the app and explore its many possibilities. Most groups produced at least two movies and demonstrated

that they had learnt how to manipulate Lego Moviemaker to achieve results that were imaginative,

technically adept and highly entertaining.

The art group focused on Christmas craft activities. Students enjoyed helping each other, sharing their skills and encouraging others as they made cards and decorations. In the lead up to Christmas, it has been good to concentrate on the birth of our Lord Jesus and to discuss various ways people around the world choose

to celebrate this time of year. We were delighted to have assistance from parents and grandparents, especially Ellie and Patrick Schubert's grandma who prepared individual kits for all 45 students for one of the activities.

As part of the assembly, students were also presented with academic, character and sports awards.

Mrs Morton

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Stand Tall Event

On 13 November 2015, some of the recently elected Student Council (Liam Brown, Karah Knight, Naomi Boulton, Thomas Knight and I), as well as the School Captain (Sandy Lowcock) and Vice Captain (Eden Williams), went to Warilla High School for the Stand Tall Event. Here we had many famous people talk to us about how God affected their lives.

The winner from 2011, Jack Vidgen, talked to us about his journey towards winning , to how he went flying around the world for performances.

Emma Birdsall, a finalist in The Voice (first season), came and performed to us and she even talked about her testimony on how she came to find the love of God.

Eloise Wellings, is an Olympian runner who had anorexia. Eventually, Eloise was able to break her anorexia. Many times Eloise qualified for the Olympics. Due to stress fractures from her anorexia, she was forced to sit out. After meeting another Olympian called Julius Achon, together they set up the Love Mercy Foundation, aimed at helping orphans in Africa. Eventually Eloise ran in the Commonwealth Games and came fifth.

Lastly, the blind surfer, Derek Rabelo, talked to us about how he wanted to surf his entire life.

inspirational man, not only is he able to surf, he is also able to ride a longboard.

Overall, Stand Tall was an amazing experience. The event strengthened our love in Christ and we are all happy we were able to attend.

Joshua Robinson, Year 9 Student Council Representative

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Christmas Tree Decorating

On Wednesday, 25 November, a team of Year 5 students decorated a christmas tree for public display in Wollongong Central.

Mrs Williams drove Micah, Mr Maina, Emilia, Cameron, Courtney, Daniel, Hannah and Emily to Wollongong Mall to decorate the Christmas tree while other schools were decorating their own Christmas tree. Leading up to this, Year 5 students made decorations such as 3D stars, bunting, nativity for under the tree, a star to go on top of it and Christmas baubles with the various names of

hour to finish the tree which was 2 metres high. We had to make sure that the front and back of the tree were both decorated beautifully and equally.

Daniel and Cameron had the privilege to place the nativity under the Christmas tree. When we had finished decorating the tree, Dr. Bertram took us to McDonalds and bought us each a frozen drink of our choice. After we had finished our drinks Mrs Williams drove us back to school to finish our science lesson.

Written by Daniel Williams and Cameron Beddoe

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End of Year Celebration

A big THANK YOU to all the teachers and students involved, giving of their time and energy to help bring this production together. The students shared the

Congratulations!

Feliz Navidad for the last time.

Blessings to you all this Christmas,

Mrs Deans

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Farewell Mr Ian Nicholls. Thank you for your many years of faithful service.

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K-6 Engineering and Construction Group The Engineering and Construction group, spent Term 3 investigating some of the principles used by architects and engineers, to build amazing structures such as the following:

Domes onion domes of the Kremlin in Moscow.

Columns and Arches like the Colosseum in Rome

Flying Buttresses

Suspension Bridges carrying bridges across valleys

Cantilevers like the one at Illawarra Fly

Using simple, easily obtainable materials, the students experimented with: making the tallest tower possible using newspaper; discovering the strongest shape (triangle) using straws and paperclips, strengthening columns made from cardboard tubes

using such things as sand, paddle pop sticks, marbles and centicubes; how to strengthen one sheet of paper to hold greater weights; and converting beam bridges into suspension bridges using straws and string.

This series of investigations, concluded by the students appreciating the creative architectural mind of Frank Gehry. They watched the documentary

came to design the Dr Chau Chak Wing (paper bag building) at the University of Technology, Sydney.

plans and models scribbled on paper, and built from scraps, cardboard tubes, blocks of wood, straws, foil etc., in much the same way as young children love to build.

Mr I Nicholls

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one sheet of newspaper and some sticky tape? How can a single sheet of paper be strengthened to

hold a maximum weight?

How can you strengthen a cardboard tower?

Building a human Geodesic Dome using triangles, buttress supports and bases.

Strengthening a Cantilever by bringing the load closer to the support.

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Good Stewardship - explored through a

connected experience and creative collaboration!

This term, Year 6 has been looking at the impact of development on the Illawarra area. We began

artwork below is based on those photographs.

In this image, we can see the land that indigenous Australians no longer own, the cutting down of trees to make grazing pastures, fencing, irrigation equipment, farm houses and even a school. The students were encouraged to think about our God-given responsibility to use the resources He has given us to live well, while always considering the cost to others, and our ability to sustain and protect these resources.

This artwork was created in 16 different panels with layers of paint and chalk pastels. Text was added that reflects the students understanding of our impact on this land in the past, and looking forward to future development. Each student worked on their own A3 panel, whilst collaborating

laminated and Blu-tacked onto the wall to create one large artwork. This process was inspired by Imants Tillers practice of creating large artworks using many small canvas boards.

Mrs Gillet, Art Teacher

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