In the Middle East temperatures can often soar beyond 50 degrees during summer. It is only very recently that people can travel during the heat of summer in air conditioned cars and buses. In ancient times when the scriptures were written groups of people would travel in the cool of the night. Just as there was no air conditioning, lighting was also limited. Travelers would be reliant on the use of lamps to find their way along paths and roads. Unless the moon was particularly bright a traveler could only see a few meters in front of them.  The purpose of the lamp was to illuminate the next step for the group and where to place their feet on the road. As you are aware the theme of this year is, “Bit by Bit, Step by Step, Inch by Inch.” We are encouraging students to focus on the next step and worry less about the end goal. 

When we understand how people traveled in groups at night in biblical times the following verse makes more sense. “Your WORD is a lamp unto my feet, and a light for my path” Psalm 119:105. One of the great benefits of modern society is that we can travel great distances quickly and in very comfortable surroundings. However, in terms of finding hope, purpose, and direction in the modern world, the verse from Psalms reminds us that calling on God to guide and direct our steps is just as relevant today as it was in ancient times. As we move forward into 2020 let us all take a moment to ask if the next step we take is guided by God and his calling upon our life or are we trying to do it on our own. When we surrender to the guidance of God we will indeed experience a great sense of peace and security.

During the first weeks of Term 1, I have been tying the “Inch by Inch” theme to last year’s theme of “Together we are Stronger.”  More simply, I am emphasizing the power of unity. When I add up students, staff, parents, and guardians, I estimate that as Campus Principal I have oversight of over 2000 people. It is tremendously exciting to consider the potential of that many people taking little steps forward in a united fashion every day. 2000 inches in a day is nearly 51 meters. Over a year that equates to 186 km. That is a lot of progress! It is all dependent on our community heading in the same direction, united and directed by God’s Word.

The Apostle Paul issued a similar challenge to the Corinthian Church, “I appeal to you, brothers and sisters, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ that all of you agree with one another in what you say and there be no divisions among you, but that you'll be perfectly united in mind and thought.”

It has been a wonderfully positive start to the year and I pray that 2020 will be Flinders finest year thus far in our journey as a Christian Community.

Andrew Watts.

Campus Principal

Welcome to 2020 – the Chinese Year of the White Metal Rat!

Over the first few weeks, I’d be grateful if you could support the school in the following ways.

 Extreme Weather

You are probably aware that we have already policies and procedures designed to keep our students dry and safe on wet, windy and extremely hot days. We have recently extended these to include daily monitoring of smoke haze, using the EPA Air Watch website. We will use this information to keep our air-sensitive students safe as well. 

Hats

All Aussies know the health hazards of melanoma and sunburn and the need for protective clothing in workplaces. Please help your child learn these important life lessons by encouraging them to SLIP, SLOP, SLAP. Please also insist that they have a hat with them every recess and lunchtime in Term One.

Parking at School

Please use the car parks provided if you are visiting the school for longer than a quick pick up or drop off. In particular, please do not stop in the Bus Only spaces or park in the Kiss and Go areas outside the Senior School and the Gym. We all need to pull together to limit congestion on our ring road at these busy times 😊

 

In the weeks leading up to embarking on Lady Somers Camp, I really had no idea what to expect, only that it would be physically, mentally and emotionally challenging, and would provide an opportunity to grow as a person, a leader, a friend and a member of a team. I knew that it was a week-long camp and had been advised to bring a positive spirit and an open mind...and lots of clothes. That was practically all I knew.

Upon meeting my Dark Blue team at Powerhouse before boarding the buses, it was clear that despite not necessarily being the strongest or the fastest, we definitely had our similar interests, strengths and weaknesses, and would get along just fine. We had no idea just how much we would need to rely on each other during that week.

 In the span of about 12 hours, we’d gone from being 20 total strangers to being 20 allies in the most intense challenges and situations I’d ever been in, and by the end of the week, it was as if we’d known each other for years. We managed to band together through twists and turns none of us ever expected. I would undoubtedly recommend this experience for any young woman (or man for Lord Somers Camp) who wants to test their limits and really see what they’re made of. It’s the most intense seven days you’ll ever experience - from assault courses to an Iron Maiden challenge to even a cross country - but you’ll come out of it with a whole new network of incredible people, plus a concrete-strong connection to the Powerhouse organisation, which in itself is an amazing thing to be a part of. 

Eden McLean
Year 12

Tuesday 25th February
Chapel – 1MC Performing
Free Dress Day – Wear Red

Wednesday 26th February
Grade 5&6 Hands On Science Incursion

Friday 28th February
House Swimming Carnival: Gr 3-Gr 6

Friday 6th March
Prep Picnic

If your child would like an Icy Pole, please send them to school with $1.00 on a Friday. Grade 3-6 students can purchase their icy poles weekly outside the food tech room during Friday’s lunch break.

On Friday 28th February we are holding our annual Primary House Swimming Carnival for our Grade 3-6 students. It will be held at Doveton Pool in the Park from 9.00am – 3.00pm. Please have your child at school by 8:40am. The students will travel by bus to and from the pool. Parents are welcome to attend and cheer along the swimmers.

Please read over and familiarize yourself with the hair regulations for Flinders College in the link HERE

In summary, for girls: hair below the collar must be tied up. For boys: Hair length must not exceed below the shirt collar and it is not to be tied in a ponytail/bun and must be off the face.

Art Attack starts back next week on Friday the 7th of February! The program will run for 8 sessions on a Friday afternoon, from 3:30-4:30pm in the Junior School art room. The cost of the program is $135 per student.  This is a great program for students in Prep to Year 6 who love to create art. It’s not too late for your child to be involved, contact Yolanda Barnes at creativeexperienceart@gmail.com to enroll your child.

School Banking is back every Wednesday for 2020.

If you would like to know more about School Banking, please  Click HERE.

School Banking is a fun, interactive and engaging way for students to learn about money and develop good savings habits.  For each weekly deposit made at school, students will receive a silver Dollarmites token. Once they collect 10 tokens, they can redeem them for a School Banking reward.

If your child has previously participated in School Banking, or has an existing Commonwealth Bank Youthsaver account, they can start banking straight away by bringing their Dollarmites deposit wallet to school on Wednesday our School Banking day.
 
If your child has lost their deposit wallet, please contact our Carrum Downs business office or visit any Commbank branch for a replacement.

The rewards available during 2020 are:

Terry Denton’s Activity Book
Mini Soccer Ball (size 2)
Treetop Stationary Set
Treetop Handball
Tomato Seed Kit
Magic Mist Drink Bottle
Emoji Wallet
Snakes & Ladders Game 

School Banking is also a great fundraiser for our school. Our school receives a Regular Savers Contribution of $5 for every 10 deposits processed per student as well as an Annual Contribution which is based on the number of students who made at least one School Banking deposit in the prior year.

Getting involved in School Banking is easy!

All you need to get involved in the School Banking program is a Commonwealth Bank Youthsaver account. You can open an account for your child in one of two ways: 
 
1. Online
Visit commbank.com.au/schoolbanking and click on the link to open a Youthsaver account.
 
2. In branch
Visit a Commonwealth Bank branch with identification for yourself and your child, like a driver’s licence and birth certificate.

 

 

Tuesday 11th February – Y9 Camp Preparation day

Wednesday 12th – Friday 14th February - Year 7 Camp

Thursday 13th February – Year 9 Camp Parent information session

What an amazing start to the year. Our bright eyed and bushy tailed year 7s have settled in well.  On our second day we all head to 1000 steps and we are proud to say we all made it.  There were a lot of laughs, encouragement and fun heard on the day. What a wonderful start.

Tuesday 10 March
Year 11 F2D (Fit 2 Drive Incursion)

Thursday 12 March
World’s Greatest Shave (Senior & Middle School)
SIS Senior School
 
Friday 13 March
SIS Intermediate Sport

Monday 16 March
Year 9  & 10 VCD Melbourne Design Week Excursion
Year 12 Lunch
Open Mic Session

Tuesday 17 March
Unit 1 & 3 OES Golburn River Camp  - Tuesday to Friday
Unit 1 Legal Studies Excursion to Melbourne Magistrates Crt

 Wednesday 18 March
John Coutis Student Presentation & Student Leader Workshop
(for Grade 5, Secondary Students and a session for Student Leaders)

Thursday 19 March
Year 9 & 10 Melbourne Zoo Psychology Excursion
Year 9 & 10 Golf

Friday 20 March
2020 Alumni Reunion Event: Rotunda 6-8pm

Flinders has  invited Sport and Life Training (SALT) to work with our Year 10 students to develop a positive senior school culture, student resilience, teamwork and collaboration, and leadership. The objective of the program is to establish the core values of the year level moving forward.

All students in the year level will be involved in the program during Periods 1 and 2, and during that time, will be required to identify a core group of students (up to ten) who epitomise the core values of the year level. These students will then be involved in three subsequent workshops with
will take place during Periods 3 and 4 on the same day as the group presentation.

Being the new Head of Senior School at the Flinders CD Campus, I was looking forward to being on camp so that I could meet the Year 11 and 12 students and have some great ‘getting to know you’ conversations with quite a few of the staff as well.

Apart from the obvious downside of being at an Outdoor Ed camp venue with the temperature up around the challenging 40C mark, there were many positives about the 3 day program:
The students were superb – on the whole, they threw themselves into the program and were challenged along the way to stretch beyond their comfort zones.

The way the Year 11 students listened attentively to my presentation on the first night where I focused on seeing Year 11/12 as part of a bigger picture for the future.
The wonderful commitment of the Flinders staff as they went ‘above and beyond’ for the entirety of the camp, often involving themselves in many of the physically taxing events.
The work of the two Year Level Co-ordinators – Mrs Del Rosario and Mrs Emmanuel – who did a brilliant job in helping the camp to run so smoothly.
All of the great conversations I had with students as I tried to put 90+ names and faces together.
I think that the sense of group cohesion and connection was very noticeable and sets these two year levels up for real success throughout 2020.

I look forward to leading the Senior School this year. The camp was a great catalyst to getting the year underway.

Mr Geoff Grace
Head of Senior School

Year 10 Work Experience 2020: Start thinking about it now!!

Students interested in Work Experience in 2020 are encouraged to make an application to undergo a work experience week during one of the following nominated dates: 22 – 26 June, 13 - 17 July and 23 - 27 November 2020.

Applications for Work Experience close on 8 June for the June/July Work Experience weeks and 9 November for the November Work Experience program.

Year 10, 11, 12:

Remember to check your emails for the Career News which is sent out every week. 
Career News contains a wealth of information about career options and courses, scholarships, snapshots of tertiary institutions.
Be sure to read this week’s Career News which highlights the importance of applying for a Tax File Number (for those students wanting to enter the workplace and compulsory for students applying for Commonwealth Supported Places at University).

Careers appointments with Mrs Hodder can be made with the Middle or Senior School Reception Offices.

Students are required to wear their full summer uniform, including the blazer (Year 7-12), to and from school and for school photos.  For girls, hair longer than collar length needs to be tied up.  For more information about uniform please read the Uniform Regulations on our College Website. Prep – Year 12 Individual, Class and Sibling Photos will be taken on Monday 10th February. Personalised order forms were sent home with students on Monday 3rd February.  We encourage families to submit their orders online using the internet ID on the form. Orders can be placed online prior to photography and up to 2 working days afterwards.  If you choose to send the order with the student, please do this on Photography Day.  Please include the correct money in the envelope as there will be no change available at the Business Office.

We are already filling up across many year levels for 2021 and will shortly begin interviewing for Year 7, 2022. If you have siblings wishing to attend the College or if you know of friends wanting to apply for places in 2021, 2022 and beyond, please encourage them to do so now to avoid missing out on a place. If you have any questions, please contact our Enrolments team, enrolments@flinders.vic.edu.au or apply online today, https://fccc.digistormenrol.com.au/applications/enrolment

If any students are no longer studying instrumental music and have a school instrument at home could they please return it to the Music School as soon as possible. Thank you 

The first Parents & Friends meeting for 2020 will be held on Tuesday 18th February in the staff lounge next to reception at 7.00pm. New members are always welcome.
The Parents and Friends are a group of Parents, led by a school appointed coordinator who are not only concerned with fundraising, but offer support and help organise various events around the school.
It is a great way to meet other parents and become involved in the school community.

Volunteering at least 10 hours a year at P and F organised activities count towards the Flinders Community Program with $180 reimbursed back onto your fees schedule at the end of the year.

If you can’t join us at the meeting or, if you just wish to find out more about the P and F please email me, marianne.morgan@flinders.vic.edu.au

I look forward to meeting you.

Marianne Morgan

 Parents and Friends Coordinator

Our Canteen is now open. 

The canteen will offer our students a menu that provides a good range of food options at reasonable prices.  The menu is available on Moodle under “Links for parents”.

Please note that there are separate arrangements for the Junior and Secondary students.

Secondary students can access the canteen at the following times:
Recess (10:40 – 11:00am)
Lunch (12:45 – 1:30pm)
Secondary students can purchase food with cash, eftpos or by using the pre-order service

For the Junior School the service is by pre-order only. Parents are required to organise their children’s lunch in advance through munchmonitor.com.  Please set up the parent account if you wish to pre-order your child’s lunch. 
Junior School lunches will be delivered to Junior classrooms just prior to the start of lunch.

Should you have any difficulties with the setup of a login, please contact munch monitor direct on 1300 796 190.  Should you have any questions about the menu or canteen, please feel free to contact the College.

The onsite Rotunda Café will continue to run as normal.

Art Show 2020

The Flinders Art show for 2020 will be held at Cube 37. The opening event will be at 6.30 pm on Thursday October 29th. The exhibition will continue until 5.00pm Wednesday November 4th. Please note the dates have  been incorrectly printed in the 2020 dates sent out to our families.

Monday 17th February

Monday 16th March

Monday 20th April

Monday 18th May

Monday 15th June

Monday 20th July

Monday 31st August

Monday 21st September

Monday 19th October

Monday 16th November

If your child would like music lessons please contact Ms Gardiner at the Music Center for further information.

Welcome students! Following another successful year in 2019 where Flinders won back to back Division A major inter-school Southern Independent Schools (SIS) Swimming Carnival for the second year running. This year, bit by bit we aim for the triple peat!

Combined Campus Secondary Swimming House Carnival at The Pines on Thursday 6th February 2020. 

Swim Squad – Friday mornings in Term 1 2020
Swim Squad Training is on again this term every Friday mornings from 7th Feb at The Pines Forest Aquatic Center at 7:20am. The cost is only $50 for the term (5 sessions) and can be paid through the Portal. 

Fun Run – Sunday 23th February 2020

Carrum Coast Guard Around the River Fun Run on Sunday 23rd February 2020. There is a 6km and 12km run. BBQ breakfast available. Visit the website:
Muscle Making Mondays & Weights Wednesday
The supervised weights room is available for all secondary students to build a strong body during Monday & Wednesday lunchtimes.
Fitness Club Every, Wednesday and Friday’s after school you can improve your fitness. Meet outside the gym at 3:30 for an interval run on campus or through the fauna and flora reserve.
Golf Academy: If you would like to know more information about our Flinders Golf Academy which runs on a Tuesday and Thursday after school each week, please email Andrew Bylart Andrew.Bylart@flinders.vic.edu.au
Combined Campus Secondary House Carnivals in 2020
Secondary Swimming House Carnival at The Pines on Thursday 6th February 2020. Secondary Athletics House Carnival at Casey Fields on Monday 2nd March 2020. Secondary Cross Country Carnival at Flinders Carrum Downs on Tuesday 21st April 2020.
Triathlon in Term 1 for Year 7 & 8 students.
Flinders Sport is pleased to run a Triathlon program again in 2020 during Term 1 for Junior (Yr. 7&8)
 

Term 1 Sport – The following sport teams will compete this term. Check Moodle out for fixtures etc. Round 1 begins Thursday 13th February 2020

Junior (Yr. 7&8) Triathlon for girls & boys
Intermediate (Yr. 9 & 10) SIS Boys Handball Intermediate (Yr. 9 & 10) SIS Girls Volleyball Senior (Yr. 11 & 12) SIS Girls Basketball Senior (Yr. 11 & 12) SIS Boys Soccer.
For more information about any of the above, please contact Mrs. Cosgrave on shay.cosgrave@flinders.vic.edu.au or 0488713200.
Flinders Sailing Our Flinders Sailing team will compete on Wednesday 12th February 2020. For students interested in our Sailing program, there is a learn to sail day held in November each year. 

“Inspired by David Toovey, Nick’s son who has lived and worked in Rwanda for eight years, Nick is planning...... “

“Our Missions coordinator, Nick Toovey is organising an adventure/cultural trip to Rwanda, east Africa( where Nick’s son David lives and works) for former Flinders students, staff and parents during the first two weeks of January next year.
This private two-week trip will be organised through the Kigali Genocide Memorial (KGM) which runs trips like this for school, tertiary and government groups around the world. The story of Rwanda’s determination not to be defined by its tragic past is a story of forgiveness, reconciliation and recovery which they collectively call ‘kwibuka’. Nick believes this country has much to teach us all about resilience, renewal and respect for each other. The wildlife and wild lands are also special features of this beautiful, peaceful country which has the second fastest growing economy in Africa.
Nick is calling for expressions of interest from staff members, parents and former students who would like to know more about this unique opportunity. Nick can be contacted by email at nick.toovey@flinders.vic.edu.au or mobile 0447244909 for the detailed itinerary and further information about the trip. An information evening will be held early in term one when numbers need to be confirmed for flights and accommodation bookings at the Akagera National Park etc."

   

The Flinders 2020 Palm Island Mission Trip is well along in its planning but there are still places available for students wishing to travel to Townsville and then onto Palm Island at the end of term 1.  The trip includes time spent at the YWAM (Youth With A Mission) headquarters in Townsville where we are involved in sessions that prepare us for the time spent as part of the community on Palm Island. We then board the ferry for a two hour ride north east.  Palm Island has a small population that is made up of over 40 Indigenous groups, locally referred to as the Bwgcolman people.  The Island has a colourful and important  history, which we hear all about while we are there.  The students have the chance to interact with the community and work with, and for, them.  There is the opportunity to team up with local groups and to run programs for young children.  All of this is completed in a beautiful tropical environment amongst

the palm trees with warm sea water across from our accommodation.  The trip’s mission is to grow in understanding of our Indigenous history and to be the hands and feet of God by showing selflessness and grace to others.

For expressions of interest or for more information, please contact Mr Nick Toovey (nick.toovey@flinders.vic.edu.au) or Mrs Gaye Franklin (gaye.franklin@flinders.vic.edu.au) 

Tyabb Campus is running an Alpha course in partnership with New Peninsula. Please see the flyer for further details.