Newsletter~Term 2~Week 4~2020

College News
TERM TWO | WEEK FOUR
May 15, 2020


Exec Thoughts
AMBER BADENHOP | HEAD OF MIDDLE
To all of you who are mothers or caregivers in our school com- munity, a Happy Mother’s Day to you. Our Primary School have traditionally acknowledged you at their Mother’s Day break- fast, and our community has missed doing it this year. And so, we want to send a special message of appreciation via our newsletter. Thank you for your mothering.
I’m sure that whatever your family grouping consists of, being at peace and seeking to provide a safe and secure home is the desire. As women, our deep connection with our children is a reflection of our creator God. One such beautiful image of the longing of God to care for his people, is that of a hen seeking to gather her chickens under her wings.
Our strength as women quite often is the provider of social and emotional connection in our families. The glue. And so, keeping ourselves healthy, connected positively with others, and being grace-filled is important.
An important part of this glue is teaching children to under- stand the power of ‘I’m sorry’. The words of apology providing a balm of healing in restoring connection and offering hope again.
I see this hope in every interview, every parent-teacher meet- ing; the generosity, the dreams, the pain in the process at times, the pride, the desire for our children to do well and to turn out well. There’s a desire that our children not just learn facts but learn how to live well.
As I reflect on Mother’s Day, it’s with hope that I understand God’s part in my children’s lives. Jesus offers something I can’t – Jesus talks about a rebirth.* As a Christian, I have tried to point my children towards walking humbly with God, doing justice, loving mercy, and inviting them to consider the good news that God offers us a new start. He offers us His forgiveness.
Heavenly Father, thank you for what we learn about your char- acter through our mother’s care and connection. Thank you for mothers and women in our community who love the children in their homes and sphere of influence. Strengthen and give wisdom to them as they continue in this awesome task. Amen.
*John Chapter 3
Thoughts taken from Ann Voscamp’s blog: https://annvoskamp.com/2020/05/how-to-100-disappointment-proof-mothers- day-get-everything-you-want-for-mothers-day-get-everything-you-need-to- know-about-mothering/
diary dates
MAY
Friday 22nd
Mad Hat Day
JUNE
Monday 8th
Queen’s Birthday Public Holiday
Monday 22 to Monday, July 20
School Holidays
JULY
Tuesday 21st
Term 3 Starts


BOOK
REVIEWS
Have you read a good book lately and would like to share? Email the title of the book, the author and a couple of comments plus your 5-star rating to [email protected]
WE ARE CELEBRATING 30 YEARS!
The Young Territory Author Awards (YTAA) are an annual writing competition where en- trants write and produce their own book. The Awards aim to inspire children and young people in the NT to explore their ideas and turn them into stories.
City of Darwin acknowledges that without your support, through the public, community libraries and schools in your area the awards would not be the success they have been. Your assistance in promoting the awards is in- valuable. Parents seeing the awards promot- ed in your libraries and schools will recognise the opportunity to encourage their young writers. The writers’ enthusiasm will blossom because they have an added purpose for writing.
Check out our Young Territory Author Awards website: www.darwin.nt.gov.au/ytaa
The user-friendly navigation provides easy access to YTAA entry form and a writer’s tool- box with great resources.


Photo by Ren Ran on Unsplash
Plants
LISA SKINNER | YEAR 1/2 TEACHER
This term the Year 1/2s have been busy marvelling at God’s creation! We have been learning all about seeds and what they need to grow up into plants that bear fruit! We’ve had fun in the garden with our sunflower seedlings, discovering plant parts by dissecting lilies and watching our bean seeds sprout on our windows!


Funky Friday's
mad hat day
Wear a hat fitting for a Mad Hatters Tea Party. Dig out something from your fancy dress box or create something new! (Regular uniform to be worn).
PINT Cricket Club
6, 7, 8 June: A & B Grade to commence with T20 format Saturday 6th June - C Grade 1 day comp to commence
Sunday 7th June - D grade 1 day/40 over comp to com- mence
Saturday 13th June - A & B Grade 1 day comp to com- mence
TRAINING
Seniors to commence 19th May, 5pm onwards Tuesday's & Thursday's
Juniors will have more info Thursday as there is a meet- ing tomorrow night, we hope the kids are excited!
We will be sending out info regarding what we need to do regarding Covid requirements soon.


Our Indigenous Boarders
What is happening to their education during COVID-19?
Some of you may be wondering how our school has been able to keep up continuity of education for our Indigenous boarders who could not return to school in Term 2. Our ded- icated EAL/D teaching team would normally be in front of lively classrooms by now, providing carefully thought out lessons, engaging students in learning activities and moni- toring progress closely. But COVID-19 has caused a hiatus in this usual way of operating. This situation has forced both the boarding and teaching staff and students to engage in a new way. But despite this, we were determined to provide equity in education for our Indigenous students. They had to go home to communities but we could still think creatively to connect and support them in their learning.
We felt strongly that this was a justice issue. These students do not necessarily have devices, laptops, internet access and some don’t even receive mail. The ‘usual’ remote learn- ing model with a heavy reliance on technology working and technological know-how would not necessarily work for our boarders. With 24 communities to reach out to we needed an approach that incorporated different strategies both technological and ‘old school’ i.e. hard copy booklets. In some situations the local school could provide access to devices, internet and a good learning space. It’s been delightful to receive photos of students working on our booklets in their local schools.
LIZ CLARKSON | EAL/D MIDDLE SCHOOL COORDINATOR


Our plan for Term 2 was the outcome of believing that God had not forsaken these students and neither should we. We had the God- given creativity to think outside the box. Perhaps our teaching team was drawn together for ‘such as time as this?’ Esther 4:14. Now we have taken on the role of distance educators by designing tailormade book- lets to support students in their well-being and biblical understanding as well as continuing their studies in English, HaSS, Science and Maths. This week we are just about to send out a second package of book- lets. We also set up multiple lines of communication through phon- ing all students and families, using social media messages and set- ting up dedicated class groups on Facebook for the posting of tasks, teaching videos and other materials. The teacher aides have worked tirelessly to copy booklets, package the parcels and follow up their arrival.
“Our plan for term two was the outcome of believing that God had not forsaken these students & neither should we.”
We are grateful for the time and resources the school has given us to devote to developing and putting this plan into effect. We have felt God’s hand in all of this and believe that our support of students both pastoral and educational continues to be both possible and essential. If you would like to see a video we made to encourage student engage- ment with the school on social media please look up MCC Boarding Program Tribute COVID19:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ynnw7oYLWG4


Renovations! JARRYD ROLAND | MUSIC TEACHER
This term, the Marrara Christian College Music room has finished its Music Room renovations. It was looking a little tired and worn-down last year, and we have been so lucky to have a bunch of work done to revitalise this well- used and well-loved space. New carpet, sound proofed walls, benches, strange circular and rectangular objects that hang from the ceiling, hooks made of wood, a large storage shelving area, and a nice stage backdrop are just some of the brilliant upgrades that have happened to continue the physical development of mu- sic at Marrara. We look forward to hearing the hard work students are doing in a public set- ting soon, and eagerly await what lays behind the fence in the courtyard between music and drama....


Year 10 Photography
Class Excursion to Dripstone
Students enjoyed practicing composition techniques and exploring the coastal landscape.
Here is Lachlan’s description of his photograph...
In this photograph I used a natural frame with the trees on the side to bring attention to the beach and the sea. I also used the rule of thirds, with the trees on the side and the shrubbery on the bottom. The mes- sage I felt from this photograph was a battle between light and dark, with the trees representing these sides and the beach representing the battle ground.
REBEKKAH CRAWFORD | PHOTOGRAPHY TEACHER


JOANNE HARDY
HEAD OF PRIMARY
REBECCA DIMMICK
HEAD OF SENIOR
a 110 AMY JOHNSON AVENUE, MARRARA
t 08 8920 2000 e [email protected] w mcc.nt.edu.au w ntcc.nt.edu.au
JOEL VAN BENTUM
PRINCIPAL
AMBER BADENHOP
HEAD OF MIDDLE
p PO BOX 84, KARAMA NT 0813