As we come to the end of another wonderful term, it is important to pause and give thanks for all that has been achieved.

It has been a term filled with learning, growth, challenges, achievements and many moments of joy. We have seen our students work hard, step outside their comfort zones, support one another and celebrate each other's successes.

Galatians 6:9 reminds us:

“Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.”

These words are a wonderful reminder that the small things we do each day, showing kindness, encouraging others, persevering and giving our best, all contribute to something much bigger.

Thank you to our students, staff and families for making this such a positive and memorable term. We are incredibly grateful for our school community and all that has been accomplished together.

As we head into the holidays, may we take time to rest, recharge and enjoy time with family and friends.

Thank you, God, for a wonderful term and for the many blessings we have shared. May we return refreshed and ready for all that the next term will bring. Amen.

The 2027 Term dates are now posted on the College Website. A quick link is found below but also available in the Flinders Connect App by clicking on the ‘Links’ tab and scrolling to the Important Dates link.

Link to the Important Dates on the College Website: Click HERE

Students will be transitioning into their Summer Uniform in Term 4. We continue to allow the first 2 weeks of term to transition due to weather unpredictability. To help you prepare for the change over please utilise the opening times for the remainder of this term to purchase your items form the uniform shop. Please note: The uniform shop will be open the first week of the holidays but only for appointments which can be made online. There are no walk ins during the holidays.

Uniform Shop opening times are found on the College Website.

Reminder: Summer uniform does include a hat – the College uniform regulations state:

Flinders Hat/Caps
Your cooperation in following these guidelines is a sun-safe environment for everyone. Let’s work together to make our school community proactive in sun protection.
Flinders Maroon hat or Flinders peak cap (Grade 5 upwards)

Primary Students (Kinder to Grade 6): All primary students must wear Flinders hats or caps (Grade 5 upwards) when outside during Term 1 and 4. This mandatory measure aims to provide additional sun protection, ensuring a safe and enjoyable outdoor experience.

Secondary Students (Years 7 - 12): All our Secondary students are to store their hat/cap at school in their locker/bag when required. For our Secondary students, wearing hats or caps is recommended during outdoor activities during Term 1 and 4. While not mandatory, we strongly encourage students to consider the benefits of sun protection and make informed choices. Students may be requested to wear a hat during extended periods outside in Term 1 and 4. These times may include PE and Sport lessons.

All students, regardless of Grade/Year level, are encouraged to: Apply sunscreen before engaging in outdoor activities. Seek shade whenever possible, especially during peak sunlight hours. Stay hydrated by regularly drinking water.

Link to all information pertaining to uniform (including Uniform Regulations and Uniform Policy) on the College Website: Click HERE

Please read attached flyer the School uniform shops trading hours over the school holidays.

It has been exciting to see the progress taking place across the campus, especially the development of our new Reception and Secondary buildings. As part of these works, we are also undertaking a power upgrade. Digging has already commenced near the Uniform Shop and along the road leading up to Reception, and these works will continue throughout the holidays.

Please note that the Uniform Shop will be closed during the second week of the holidays due to these works, and the road leading up to Reception will be closed for the full holiday period.

Pedestrian access to Reception will still be available from the front carpark.

Thank you for your patience and understanding as these important improvements continue.

We kindly remind families that dogs are not to be brought onsite at school, including during drop-off and pick-up times. While we understand that many families love to include their pets in the daily routine, keeping dogs off school grounds helps us maintain a safe and calm environment for all students, staff and visitors.

As you may know, Smudge, our therapy dog, is onsite as part of a planned and supervised wellbeing program in Waymaker. It is important that Smudge is not distracted or brought into contact with other dogs while working, therefore, we ask that no other dogs be brought onto school property. Thank you for your understanding and support as we work together to keep our school community safe, settled and welcoming for everyone.

Please read the attached flyer regarding the Holiday Programe run with Camp Australia.

Please read the attached flyer regarding the Holiday Programe run with Camp Australia.

As planning for 2027 classes continues, staff are carefully considering the many factors that contribute to successful class groupings, including student learning needs, wellbeing, friendships, and overall class balance.

Parents who have information they believe would be helpful for the school to consider are invited to submit this in writing to toni.steinbergs@flinders.vic.edu.au by Friday 8 October. While we are unable to guarantee that all requests can be accommodated, we value the insights families can provide as part of this process.

Thank you for your ongoing partnership as we seek to create classes that support every child to flourish academically, socially and emotionally.

Recently, Year 12 students at Flinders Christian Community College came together to help clean up our school grounds. It was a great opportunity to work together as a school community and do something positive for our environment.

Throughout the clean-up, we collected an impressive 15.2 kilograms of rubbish from around the school. It was surprising to see how much rubbish could build up around the grounds, but it was also really rewarding to see the difference we made by working together.

A special thank you goes to all the Year 12 students who came along and helped with the clean-up. We really appreciate you taking the time to get involved and support the younger students. Your effort and willingness to help made the day much easier and more enjoyable.

It was great to see everyone working as a team, whether they were picking up rubbish, sorting waste or helping keep the area organised. Small actions like this can make a big difference to our school and the environment.

Overall, the clean-up was a successful day, and collecting 15.2 kg of rubbish is something we can all be proud of. Thank you to everyone who participated and helped make our school a cleaner and better place!

The book parade is always a hit with students dressing up as a book character. They love it!

More prizes were given this year to students. Most improved readers and the best reader in each class as well as the best costumes award.

We had the Scholastic Book Fair running for 4 days in the library and although it started off slow, it was a successful fundraiser for the library. We ended up doing over $5400 in sales, giving us over $1600 in scholastic rewards, in which we can get new books for the library.

On the Thursday of book week, we had 2 authors come for Primary. Andrea Rowe and Danielle Binks. They were both fantastic. All the students enjoyed the sessions.

The author for 2027 has already been booked. We will have James Foley and he will be amazing.

Wakakirri

What an Achievement! What an incredible first year of Secondary Wakakirri at Flinders!

Our students have made Flinders history with Guardians of Us, an original story created and directed by our talented Year 12 students; Eden, Eleanor and Jazlyn. Following the casts outstanding performance at Frankston Arts Centre in August, we are thrilled to announce that the production has received a National Award nomination and has been selected to perform again at the Wakakirri National Awards Showcase at Frankston Arts Centre on Monday 7 September.

The cast have already received a number of wonderful awards and recognition for their work, including Ensemble Choreography, Leading Cast, Ensemble, Storytelling and Public Speaking Awards. Their student directors have also been recognised for their exceptional leadership and creative vision.

This achievement is a wonderful reflection of the creativity, courage, collaboration and commitment of our students. We are incredibly proud of the entire cast and especially our Year 12 student directors for taking on such a significant creative leadership role.

Congratulations to everyone involved in making our inaugural Secondary Wakakirri experience such a success! Link to embed selected images to add if appropriate: HERE

Gala Auditions Week 10

We are excited to announce auditions for our 2027 Flinders Gala, with this year’s theme being The Greatest Show!

Auditions will take place in Week 10, with students in Years 6–11 invited to audition. The program will feature exciting musical theatre numbers including Magic To Do from Pippin and The Greatest Show from The Greatest Showman.

Students interested in auditioning should book an audition time using the link below: https://www.trybooking.com/DOBXH We can’t wait to see the incredible talent across our students!

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory Cast Party

Week 10 to celebrate the incredible work of our Charlie and the Chocolate Factory cast, we will be holding a special Cast Party in Week 10. It will be a chance for our cast to come together, celebrate everything they achieved and enjoy some well-deserved time together after an enormous year of rehearsals, performances and teamwork. Please check Flinders Connect for details and to give consent for your child to attend.

There is so much happening in Performing Arts at Flinders, and we are incredibly proud of the opportunities our students continue to embrace!

Last Thursday, our talented music students took to the stage for a fantastic Cabaret Night, featuring performances from our Stage Bands, small jazz ensembles and vocal soloists.

With two sellout shows, the evening was a tremendous success and a wonderful celebration of the talent, dedication and musicianship of the students involved in our jazz program.

Our Year 7 students have recently completed their colourful two-point perspective collage houses! Students explored the principles of two-point perspective before transforming their drawings into creative mixed-media artworks using recycled magazines.

This project has brought plenty of colour, creativity and individuality into the art room, with students finding inventive ways to use images, patterns, colours and textures from recycled materials. Along the way, students have also considered the importance of reusing and repurposing materials and how these choices can contribute to more sustainable art-making practices.

Our Year 9 and 10 students have been developing their painting skills through a unit exploring a variety of materials, techniques and approaches to painting. Students have experimented with different media and are now putting their developing skills into practice through oil painting. It has been wonderful to see students building confidence as they explore colour, tone, texture and brushwork to develop their own artworks.

We look forward to continuing our creative journey next term as students move from painting into a new clay unit!

Congratulations to Spencer M who recently represented Australia at the U18 Shanghai Future Stars Tournament, held in China. This tournament showcases some of the worlds best basketball talent for his age.

What an incredible achievement!

Flinders enjoyed a sunny spring day down at Casey Fields Athletics Track for the SIS Division A Athletics Carnival on Tuesday 1 September, which brought together 8 SIS schools for a day of competition.

Over 80 students from both our Tyabb and Carrum Downs campuses competed across a wide range of track and field events. Special mention goes to Andi M (Year 8), who broke the SIS record for the U14 Girls 1500m with an outstanding time of 4:56.

Flinders also took home the U16 Boys aggregate pennant. Go Flinders!

Flinders was proud to be represented by 5 teams at the Basketball Victoria Elite 8 competition, which brings together the top 8 school basketball teams in the state in each age group, an outstanding achievement just to qualify.

Our U15 Girls and Boys both showed promising signs, going down in their games by narrow margins. The U17 Girls came away with 1 win and 2 very close losses, placing them in the top 6 in the state. The U20 Boys also fought hard, narrowly losing all of their games. Meanwhile, our U20 Girls played some exceptional basketball, finishing an impressive 3rd in the state!

Well done to all teams and students involved.

Flinders was proudly represented by 3 teams at the Girls State Netball Qualifications, held at Jubilee Park on 20 August. Our Junior Girls enjoyed a great day out, picking up 3 wins. Our Senior Girls had an incredible day, winning every game but one, narrowly going down to Padua in a great contest. Our Inter Girls battled through some tough competition to progress to the finals day, where they finished 5th in the state!

Flinders was proudly represented by 3 teams at the Boys State Netball Qualifications, held at Knox Regional Netball Centre on 13 August. Our Inter and Senior teams played some outstanding netball throughout the day, while our Junior Boys impressed with a strong run to the finals day, where they finished 5th in the state!