CSSA Touch Football Tournament

On Friday 22, March, nine of our students (5 girls & 4 boys) were selected to represent the CSSA North Coast Touch Squad in a Touch Football Tournament held in Coffs Harbour. From these squads the students had a chance to be selected for the NSW CSSA State Team. This tournament consisted of other regions/schools from all over NSW. There was some tough competition but not for our Open Boys. Billy , Zac and Alphonsus were a part of the Open Boys championship winning team. They were undefeated on the day and all three boys played a massive part in the team. Zac and Fonz were selected for the Open Boys NSW team, but to our surprise Billy was not selected, although he was a standout player. Eli was playing for the 15's and was outstanding, he directed the team with his abilities in setting up tries and also scoring them. Eli was also selected for the State U15's Team. To our Open Girls, Taylor, Katrina and Hannah , our congratulations. You all played exceptionally well and we are all so proud of you. Our U15 girls Courtney and Tyler also played their hearts out, showing the great Pacific Coast spirit. Courtney made it to the Possibles v Probables match for the State Team but unfortunately didn't qualify. Still a massive achievement Courtney, well done. Thank you Mrs. Thompson for driving the bus, thank you Mr. Donnelly for your commentary and thank you Mr. Peck for all the organising you did. It was a great trip had by all and am so very proud of all our students.

Outback Mission

Outback Mission (Northern Territory) 22 June to 4 July

Four Pacific Coast staff members and students joined with 23 teachers and students from Pacific Hills Christian School for a 13 day mission trip to visit aboriginal communities in the Northern Territory. Catherine and Katie-Anne from Year 10 and Mr Peck and Mrs Vandersteen  spent 4 days at the Amata Aboriginal Community painting a house and working with the children doing crafts and sport. We provided a sausage sizzle on Sunday night for the community and attended their evening church service. The  service  went for approximately 3 hours and was conducted in the Pitinjarra language. This was a truly amazing experience despite the freezing temperature and the need to stand around small fires to keep warm.

We also spent time exploring Uluru (Ayers Rock), Kata Juta (The Olgas) and King’s Canyon before heading to Glen Helen. Walking around the base of Uluru, a 12km walk, was a fantastic opportunity to soak in the spirituality that this land exudes. King's Canyon at dawn, waiting for the sun to come up and soaking in the amazing views was also worth the sore muscles and demanding levels of energy.

We celebrated Territory Day (with fireworks) and visited two more aboriginal communities where we engaged the children in those communities; Hermansberg and Haasts Bluff. On the last day we celebrated Communion together at Red Bank Canyon in the Fink River and witnessed the baptism of four of our students. What a memorable way to commit their life to God.

It is a fascinating part of our country and I felt very close to our Lord whilst there. I encourage all students to take the step to go on mission as it is a life changing experience.

Mrs Debbie Vandersteen

MAD Night

M.A.D. night was a great success. On Thursday 21st June Pacific Coast students displayed their Art, Music and Dance skills.

The quality of creativity displayed was extraordinary for a school of our size. We had Mad Hatters, Alice and all the tea cups and tea pots. The entertainment ranged from Sudden Impact to Rapping, singing, instrumental, composition and dancing. A big thank you to all our talented students who exhibited and performed.

Senior School Athletics Carnival

The Senior School Athletics Carnival took place on a beautiful sunny day on Tuesday 19th June at Walter Peate Reserve in Kingscliff.  It was a great day and was wonderful to see so many students participating enthusiasitcally in events and showing a willingness to help out with the running of the events.  Many records were broken and some impressive times and distances were recorded in different events.  Our most competitive age group was the 14yrs boys where all of the boys were involved and showed great competitiveness and team spirit.  It was particularly pleasing to see good sportsmanship evident at the carnival with one student (Kirsty Hergenhan) helping out another student (Caitlin Byrne) when she got injured during a race, sacrificing her own race.  Other students also encouraging students to finish and do their best rather than pull out of events. was a pleasure to witness.  

I would like to thank all the students, staff and parents who helped to put on a fun and successful day!  A special thanks to Mrs Leonard for putting on a barbeque which was much appreciated and tasted fantastic!  The overall winning house for the day was Norman but all houses put on a good showing.  The zone carnival will take place down in Coffs Harbour in week one of Term Three on the 27th July.  Students achieving in the top two posiitons for an event are eligible to attend.  Participants are encouraged to train and stay fit during the holidays so they are able to perform to their best on the day.  

State Cross Country

Congratulations to Ben, Luke, Aiden and Kirsty who recently represented the School at the State Cross Country.

The results were:

Kirsty, 67th out of 100 runners (15 girls)

Ben, 35th out of 97 runners (14 boys)

Aiden, 31st out of 47 runners (17 years)

Luke, 60th out of 100 runners (16 years)

7/8 Radiance Girls Program

Week 7 - Confidence

The theme for this week was Confidence. The girls discussed how confidence comes with being content with yourself and the types of situations that make us feel more or less confident. Also discussed was ways to be confident and appear confident such as: being happy in your own body, being natural, maintaining good eye contact when speaking with people, not taking offence, walking with shoulders back and head high. 

Then lots of fun was had when the girls had the opportunity to treat each other to some new hair-styles – nothing like a good hair day to build confidence!

World Vision Global Leaders Day

On Wednesday 16 May our School Chaplain, Mrs Thompson along with Brooke (Year 10), Jadie (Year 10) and Lachlan (Year 11) attended the World Vision Global Leaders day. 

They thoroughly enjoyed the day and the students were inspired to be those in the Senior School that take the running on organising the 40 Hour Famine in August; World Vision’s major fundraising event. 

The timing of the convention was particularly significant for one of the students who had just started a part-time job and had already been thinking about using the wages to support a sponsor child through Compassion. 

The student said “Why not use my money to help those who need it otherwise I would just be spending it on stuff I don’t need anyway!” 

It’s wonderful when we see our young people taking seriously Jesus words about “whatever you do for the least of these you do it for Me”.

Zone Cross Country at Lismore

Last Friday, 23 students took the bus down to Summerland Christian College to compete in the zone cross country.  I would like to congratulate the students on their participation in what was a great day.  Unfortunately rain cut the day a little short and the senior boys and girls competed in rainy conditions which made it very tough.  Congratulations to Izak and Luke who won their respective age groups and also to Kytelen, Ashleigh, Ben and Liam who also placed in the top 3 in their events.  

On 1 June, students that finished in the top 6 have been invited to attend the State Christian Schools Cross Country event which will take place in Sydney.  I wish all the students that are going to take part in this event the very best and encourage them to keep up the running and fitness!

Annie, the musical

15 Year 9/10 Music students went with Mrs Hawkins and Mrs Dawson to see in Annie in Brisbane last Wednesday. What a wonderful show with Anthony Warlow, Nancy Hayes and Todd McKenny. A great opportunity to experience live theatre. The students enjoyed the day (and the lunch at Southbank).

Marine Studies at the Quikky Pro

The Senior students got to meet and greet some professional surfers last week at the Quikky Pro. This is Jordan Kerever with the eventual winner of the Roxy Pro Stephanie Gilmore. 

The opportunity to watch some live heats at this level is a great blessing for students as it gives them a broader insight into the many ways that people make use of the ocean. 

Surfing is a culturally relevant activity in our area and it is wonderful to see students gain skills and an appreciation of the many activities available to them due to our location. Many of our students really enjoyed this experience and were grateful to be able to participate in this unique event.

Fairways Retirement Village

Year 7/8 had a wonderful visit to Fairway's Retirement Village on Thursday 15 March. They were interviewing the residents about the power of Music in their life. Questions such as "Can you remember music from when you were a teenager"?   What music did you have at your wedding? Did you ever go to dances or play an instrument?

It was wonderful to see the students interact with the residents.

'Breathe' Senior School Girls' Camp

On the girls' camp we had so much fun with all the leeches (not). We did lots of bushwalking, Art, Christian meditation and Tribal Games. We saw lots of snakes and even a wallaby. The cliff road was pretty scary to drive up, but we survived. We had lots of fun at camp and I think that everyone else did too. By Cate and Anne-Louise. Yr 7.

Some of us got drenched when we got caught in a storm while on a bushwalk with Miss Webster. We had so many leeches on us. The next day we did another bushwalk. The view over the valley was amazing but it was very tiring as it was about 7 kms long. The Breathe time was good because we got to know more about God. The cabins were ok but they had spiders in them but we survived. The formal dinner was fun. Miss Ambler and some girls decorated our outside area with tea light candles and hanging decorations. And we all got dressed up. We had chicken pasta which was awesome and yummy. By Amy Yr 7

At night time we had a feast and stayed up to 2.00am. Getting to spend time with our girlfriends was the best bit of all. Ashleigh, Yr 7.