Christmas seems like a fantasy.  It can seem strange - a bit like coming out from under the stairs to discover that you’re actually a famous wizard-child, the one who lives!

There is a different theme running through Biblical history: You saw, you heard.

Deuteronomy 3:21 - Your eyes have seen all that the Lord your God has done

4:3: - Your eyes have seen what the Lord did.  

Also in 4:9, 4:12, 4:36. Deuteronomy 5:24 - we have heard His voice from the midst of the fire.  

Also, 7:19, 5, 7:19 - the great trials which your eyes saw in Egypt.

Later in Joshua 23:3 - You have seen all that the Lord your God has done.

It wasn’t a fantasy, it was seen. These were events that weren’t done secretly, they were witnessed and recorded by many.  Further on in Deuteronomy 11:2 it says, ‘Know today that I do not speak with your children, who have not known and who have not seen…but your eyes have seen every great act of the Lord.’

The message is this:  You saw this, your kids didn’t, tell them about it, lest the story be lost and the branch be cut off from the tree.

Later on:  Acts 4:20, Peter and John: “For we cannot but speak the things which we have seen and heard.”  

2 Peter 1:16-18, ‘For we did not follow cunningly devised fables … but were eyewitnesses of His majesty.’

These are events that happened in space and time. 

God doesn’t ask us to believe in a fantasy, but in real things that actually happened and are recorded in many sources. It is quite spectacular - more than fantasy, it was real and remains real.

God has been there throughout history and although Christmas is a phenomenal story, that’s not all it is.

We enjoy fantasy because it’s big and powerful. It’s about belonging to something awesome.

But Christmas is no fantasy. And we have the proof, in history and in the Bible.

Please keep an eye on Flinders Connect for additional dates and the latest information. Meanwhile, here are a few event dates that lie ahead:

Friday 2nd December: Primary Orientation 8:30am - 11:10am

Friday 2nd December: Primary Presentation Night 7:00pm

Monday 5th December: Secondary Presentation Night 7:00pm

Thursday 8th December: Last Day of Term 4

Looking ahead to 2023

Friday 27th January: Year 12 Retreat

Tuesday 31st January: 2nd Hand Uniform Shop Open 2:00pm - 5:00pm

Wednesday 1st February: Kinder, Prep, Year 7 and Year 12 students commence

Thursday 2nd February: Joshua Centre and all other year levels commence

Thursday 2nd February: Mobile Catering Canteen re-opens for 2023

Monday 13th February: Primary District Swimming Tryouts 

Monday 20th February: Photo Day for Secondary Students

Tuesday 21st February: Photo Day for Primary Students

Wednesday 1st March: Primary Swimming Carnival

Saturday 4th March: SAVE THE DATE! Movie night

Wednesday 5th April: Primary Athletics Carnival

A huge thank you goes out to all our volunteers for 2022, you are wonderful with serving hearts and without you we would not be able to deliver the events that we have this year.

Georgie and I here at Parents and Friends wish everyone an amazing holiday filled with laughter and kindness. Stay safe and we look forward to welcoming everyone back in Term 1.

We also have some dates to remind you about for the start of 2023:

• Parents' Welcome Morning Tea:
  Kinder, Prep & Year 7 parents - 
  Wednesday 1st February, 7:30am - 10:00am
  All other year level parents - 
  Thursday 2nd February, 7:30am - 10:00am
• Open Air Movie Night: save the date!
  Saturday 4th March
  
  See you there!
  Sally Bentley
  
   

Reminder: the Primary School Presentation Evening is on TONIGHT!

Please arrive by 6:45pm for a 7:00pm start.

Venue: New Peninsula Baptist Church, 370 Craigie Road, Mt Martha

On Friday 25th November it was our great joy to hold the Grade 6 Graduation day. Thank you to all the parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles who were able to join us for the morning's presentations. We know students appreciated you sharing such a significant milestone with them. Following the formalities of the day, students enjoyed an afternoon of water-based activities together.

Our primary school students have been fascinated by their recent science lessons on light refraction.

After the successful trial in 2022, we are excited to be able to offer after-school robotics workshops in 2023 with Aerobotics Global.

Students will learn real-world coding and robotics by building their own robots and using robotics software to code them. These workshops will provide unique problem-solving applications based on a progressive course structure. Activities allow term-by-term advanced learning with ongoing engagement. 
 

These workshops are open to Primary Students (Grades 2-Grade 6) only and will take place in the W06 Primary Digitech Room. Students will go directly to the workshop from classroom dismissal, and a parent/carer will need to physically sign their child out from the workshops. 
 

These workshops are handled directly by Aerobotics Global. The signing up for the workshops, dates and times, and initial purchase of the robot or additional components is handled through their website and can be accessed through the following link:

http://aeroboticsglobal.com/fccc


Please ensure students are collected promptly. FCCC staff are not present at the workshops.

After School Care is offered by Camp Australia should your child need supervision after the workshops. Aerobotics Global needs to receive communication from the parent/carer before releasing any child to Camp Australia.
 

Please note that should there not be significant interest, the workshops will not proceed.

 
Those students who were part of the Term 4 workshops can continue by purchasing a small component to add to their existing robots. They will then progress to the next level.

If you require further information about this activity, please contact Aerobotics Global through their website from the signup link above.
 
Yours in Christ's service,
Mr Matt Smith

Dear Primary parents and students,
Over the past few years, grades 5 & 6 have collected and donated gifts for boys and girls ranging from ages 5 - 12 years old. We have been able to donate over 100 gifts each year to the Community Giving Tree. This year the whole Primary School community has been involved and there were so many beautiful gifts donated, too many gifts to count.

Thank you so very much for your generosity and kindness towards those who are less fortunate than ourselves. “Grow in love”, our college motto, is on display as you drive into our front car park. Your generosity in giving to this wonderful charity is “Grow in Love” displayed in a practical way, showing those in our community who are struggling the love of Jesus Christ. Thank you!

I am sure that there will be hundreds of children in our community who will be blessed by your giving and their Christmas will be much happier because of you.

Once again, thank you so very much for your generosity.

God Bless!
Eric Wilson

 

The Community Giving Tree Story

Shane Donovan, Impact Real Estate owner, launched The Community Giving Tree in 2015 to support families in our local community who would otherwise go without at Christmas time.

The foundation works in partnership with the Salvation Army Carrum Downs in providing presents to children and food and necessities to less fortunate families registered with the Salvation Army.

The Community Giving Tree has raised over $70,000 in its seven years. Since 2015 they have helped over 3000 families, equating to approximately 600 happy children each year with a present from Santa.

Last week the Grade Fives enjoyed a thrilling day out to iFLY Melbourne. Some students even said it was more fun than camp! They were involved in a STEM program which culminated in two flight experiences 1:1 with an instructor in a vertical wind tunnel. An amazing excursion!

Miss Smith and Mrs Pengelly
Grade Five Teachers

As part of Orientation Day this morning, older students helped present a living nativity scene, much to the delight of the incoming Prep students.

Dear Parents / Guardians,

Our Secondary School Presentation Evening is a formal school occasion acknowledging student achievement across Years 7-12. All secondary school students are therefore required to attend and support this time of reflection and celebration of the current school year as a secondary community.

The date for Presentation Night this year has been well publicised. Presentation Night will be held on Monday, 5 December at New Peninsula Church, 370 Craigie Road, Mt. Martha, commencing at 7.00pm.

Students are required to arrive and be seated no later than 6.45pm to ensure a 7.00pm prompt start. Car parking is available on site.

Students are to ensure that full summer school uniform is worn and that it is neat, clean and in good repair. All students are reminded to wear their blazers and boys must wear long trousers. As well as uniform, normal school rules regarding student appearance apply.

Thank you.

The Beyond Limits day gave secondary students the opportunity to get involved in a huge selection of activities, including the following:

• MIni golf
• Whole school tiggy
• Yoga
• Car servicing
• Taxes
• Gym session
• Cake making
• Zumba
• Self defence
• Singing
• Drone experience
• Laser tag

Students were able to learn new skills, be challenged, strengthen friendships, practice gratitude, sing, dance, eat and play together. You can see from the photos what a fun day it was!

As part of their Wellbeing Day activities, students could choose to have some fun with electronics, making doorbells.

This term has been busy up at the agriculture centre. Everything is growing so quickly, and the farm is full of life and activity with lots of hands-on activities for everyone. Students have been busy feeding the sheep, taking care of the chickens, growing and planting new crops such as corn and squash, or helping Nerissa the sheep show captain move sheep and prepare pens.

During the Grade 5 and Grade 6 Rotations in 2022 each class has had the opportunity to come up to Ag Studies once a fortnight for a term and have an up close and personal experience with the sheep, usually only the domain of the sheep show team and farm managers. During this time students learnt about the sheep, their wool and how to care for and handle them. This included becoming familiar with the parts of the sheep and being able to decide which of our sheep demonstrate the best characteristics of the Corriedale bloodlines. Students practiced catching, handling and judging the sheep as well as investigating their wool. 

At the end of the rotation students can demonstrate their ability to catch, calm and tip a sheep. Sheep need to be comfortable with this process because if you want to trim a sheep's hooves or gain access to its underside you need to get the sheep onto its rump. Setting a sheep on its rump is called tipping. Sheep in this position struggle very little and are easy to work with and can be held in a comfortable position. Hamish (under supervision) very competently demonstrates how to correctly tip a sheep.

Well done to all our string instrument-playing students for their enthusiasm during their orchestra excursion!

On their last day of Science, Year 7s enjoyed making recycled paper and casein plastic.

Year 8B had a great time investigating density during their chemistry practical just before kickstart. The students used their knowledge of the different densities of solutions such as fresh water, water temperature, different concentrations of salt water and methylated spirits to create solutions with distinctly separate layers. Requiring a bit of trial and error and practise with their pipette skills, students successfully achieved their goals with some spectacular results. 

We asked Amy to help us get to know her a little more, and here's what she had to say:

 


What is your job role and who do you work with?

I work at the Mt Martha campus Kindergarten. I am the Out of School Hours Care co-ordinator; I cover staff lunches in both rooms, and I work in the kinder office. Our kinder team consists of Sammantha Van Tienen, Jo Morel, Emma Salah, Erin Hobbs, Maree Kelly and Judy Cooper.

How long have you worked at Flinders?

This is the 5th year I have worked at the Flinders kinder.

What do you love most about Flinders?

I love the community, the people and the relationships formed working with a great team.

Did you have a teacher who inspired you when you were at school? 

Yes, Miss Harper one of my primary school teachers. She was firm but kind, organised and creative. She used to drink hot water instead of tea or coffee. I invited her to my 10th birthday party at Sizzler, Miss Harper attended and gave me a clock with a duck on it, I still have it today.

Where were you born / where did you grow up?

I was born and grew up in Sydney. I attended a Sports High School for swimming.

Favourite food? 

Italian, anything to eat on a picnic.

Favourite book / movie? 

Jane Eyre, ‘UP’.

What are your hobbies or interests?     

Cooking, reading, swimming, camping, seeing live music. 

What is a skill or secret talent we might not know you have?

Currently ranked fastest 50 & 100m freestyle in Victoria for my age group.

What is something you have on your “bucket list” – to do, a place to visit, an experience you would like to have?

I would love to visit Norway and swim in the fjords (in summer), train ride through the Canadian mountains (in winter) and ride a bike and picnic in Tuscany (anytime).                

Application enquiries? Email enrolments@flinders.vic.edu.au

Camp Australia runs a before and after school program for Primary students on site. For their latest newsletter, click on the link below.

Need new school uniform items?

The Alinta onsite uniform shop will be open this Saturday 3rd December, 9:00 - 11:00am.

Also, a big shout out to past student Sam Keck, founder of Commonfolk, and their 'Cup That Counts' initiative. Here's their latest report:

Impact Report | The Cup That Counts

It’s been a little while since we provided an update on the impact of Commonfolk’s social initiative The Cup That Counts. For those of you somewhat unfamiliar with the initiative head on over to the TCTC page on our website for some context. We’ve got a bit of ground to cover but it’s worth it I promise. Brew yourself a nice cup of ethically sourced coffee and sit down for some heart warming impact!
If you can’t be bothered reading the entire thing, at least check out the stats: 

$20,000 donated to the Zukuka Bora coffee project in October 2022 and $209,771.98 of total donations since 2014. 

2000 farmers and more than 20,000 people directly impacted by the commercial opportunities created by Zukuka Bora throughout the 2022 harvest. 

Over $4000 raised for Home Ground by running a marathon from Commonfolk Franga to Beauy and back again.  

Over 3000 kg of coffee donated to Home Ground since 2018 with a wholesale value of over $100,000.  

80 young people have completed Home Ground’s 10 week holistic hospitality training program with many gaining employment.  

$2000 committed to supporting Ben Whittaker and Shared Value Project. 

To date a combined $389K of value raised for The Cup That Counts.

You can read more about it all HERE.

Does your child want to play football? Click on the button below for information on Hastings Junior Football Club. Registration Day is Sunday 4th December!

Looking for activities for the summer school holidays? The Briars in Mount Martha might have what you are looking for. Details of their summer program can be find via the PROGRAM button below.