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River City Christian College Term 01, Week 08

rccc.vic.edu.au Monday, Mar 23, 2020

In this issue

From Peter Nelson 1

Prayer Points 2

School News 2-5

Calendar of Events 6

My Reflections on Neil Schroder

Last Thursday afternoon, Neil Schroder passed

away. Neil was a man whose faith in God and his

life are intertwined with River City Christian

College from its very earliest days. In fact, he was

one of the people in whom God had birthed a

vision for a local Christian school before there were

any buildings, staff, students or anything that could

be called a school. He was there at the first meeting

of a few faithful families late in 1980 who started to

bring the vision into a reality. He helped do the

work needed to make ready the first classrooms, he

brought along some of his children to be the first

students, he made the connections so that we could

move on to our current site and was the Principal

from 1984 to 1999. However, Neil was always

quick to tell me that if it wasn’t for the faithful

support of his wife Margaret, he wouldn’t have

been able to do any of this. Neil was also the one

who until even recently would drop into the school

to have a chat with me, show interest in the

operation of the school, encourage me in my work

here and pray for me.

For those who knew Neil, you will no doubt have

a variety of memories from your own particular

setting but this is clear to me; he was a faithful man

who persevered to the end in his relationship with

God and his love for Jesus his Saviour. More than

that, the Neil I got to know over these almost four

years had continued to grow in wisdom, stature

and in favour with God and men, becoming more

like Jesus and I am grateful to have known his

friendship. He fought the good fight, he finished the

race, he kept the faith and now he has been called

home to heaven.

Please be praying for Margaret Schroder, Di &

Alister Smith (Di worked in the school from the

very start and so supported her Dad in pioneering

this school) and the wider Schroder family at this

time, that they may know God’s comfort and peace

as they move through these days. Peter Nelson

Putting things in context

There is much to be said about the Coronavirus and

its implications for us as individuals and as a

community but that is for others more equipped

than I to describe and for elsewhere in this

newsletter regarding the specific implications for

our school community. However, as this will be our

last newsletter for this term and so the last one

before Easter, there is a bigger story to embrace, far

bigger than any virus or the passing of a loved one

and that is God’s love for us. For He so loved the

world that He gave his one and only Son, that

whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have

eternal life. The fact is that Jesus came into this

world, lived the life that He lived, was crucified,

died, rose again to life and then ascended into

heaven to prepare a place for us to live together

with Him forever. In that place God has promised

that He will wipe every tear from our eyes, that

there will be no more death, mourning and pain,

for He is making everything new for those who

believe in the work of Jesus and seeking His will in

their lives. This is the bigger story that we’re living

in, which has its turning point in the original Easter

period – He is Risen, He is Risen Indeed!

Peter Nelson

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in the midst of this challenging environment.

God repeatedly reminds us in His Word that through

life He uses hard times to refine us and so I agree with

James in the first chapter of his letter: 2 Consider it

pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face

trials of many kinds, 3 because you know that the

testing of your faith produces perseverance. 4 Let

perseverance finish its work so that you may be

mature and complete, not lacking anything. 5 If any of

you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives

generously to all without finding fault, and it will be

given to you.

Yours faithfully,

Peter Nelson - Principal

Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) Reminders

Two great sources of information regarding the virus

and our response in Australia can be found at: https://

www.health.gov.au/news/health-alerts/novel-

coronavirus-2019-ncov-health-alert

https://www.dhhs.vic.gov.au/coronavirus

The Coronavirus Hotline is 1800 675 398

Please continue to make yourself aware of and comply

with Government requirements as they are updated,

encouraging and practising good hygiene including:

Washing hands frequently with soap and water,

before and after eating, and after going to the

toilet.

Covering coughs and sneezes (preferably using

your elbow area), disposing of tissues

responsibly, washing / sanitising hands after

touching your face.

If unwell, avoiding contact with others.

Maintaining an approximate 1.5 metres from

others wherever possible and refrain from

handshakes, particularly for those beyond your

intimate family.

Isolation is required for those who have contracted the

virus and for those who have had contact with

somebody with COVID-19. If this is you and you are

part of the River City Christian College, please

immediately call the Coronavirus Hotline on 1800 675

398 and advise the school. There is a symptom checker

tool at https://www.healthdirect.gov.au/coronavirus

Of course, if you or your child are otherwise unwell,

we would expect that you are excluded from activities

beyond your home as would normally be expected.

Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) & changes to the

ways we operate as a School

Thank you for the trust you place in us as we care for

your children within the school environment. These

are rapidly changing times and whatever I write here

may need updating before you get to read it.

Regardless, I’ll try to inform you here of our next steps

in partnering with you in the education of your

children.

We will continue to be faithful, resting in the peace

that Jesus brings us while also doing what we can to

promote appropriate vigilance and hygiene on the

school site and in the broader community, with a

particular focus on students and staff. That’s what we

believe we have been doing to this point in continuing

with our school programs in the way that we have but

now we have been advised it is needed for us to

significantly reduce the number of students at school

and move to supporting students in their learning

while they are at home.

We will therefore move forward with these actions:

• Finish school this afternoon at 3.15pm and

so move into school holidays for students

four days earlier than planned.

• Hold our Parent Teacher meetings on

Wednesday afternoon this week according to

the schedule already supplied to you but the

relevant teacher will call you by phone when

ready. (We will be calling you about this

beforehand)

• Staff will use the remainder of this week to

develop some initial plans on how to support

you remotely in the education of your children

should they need to remain with you at home

once term 2 commences on April 14th.

• We will be seeking your input on how best to

meet your specific needs in this regard. This may

also include providing ongoing support on site

to students of those working in essential services

or otherwise unable to make alternative

arrangements although this may be limited by

Government restrictions or health advice.

• We will continue to update you as more

information comes to hand and welcome your

questions as they arise.

Please pray for us as we try to prepare for the various

contingencies, aiming to do our part for your child to

have what they need to continue to develop

academically, spiritually, socially and physically, even

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Non-Perishable Food Donations

With term 1 concluding earlier than expected for students,

we will miss our usual end of term collection of non-

perishable food for donation to the Echuca Community

Food Bank. If you’re in a position to make a donation of

such food, please drop it into to the school office as soon as

possible and we’ll ensure it gets delivered to the Food Bank.

Prayer Points

• Praise God for His great love shown in Jesus through that first Easter time, providing a way of rescue for us.

• Thankfulness for the wellbeing of our Year 7 & 8’s, Mrs Carolyne McDonald and Corbz during their time away in

Anglesea & Ballarat last week.

• For the health and wellbeing of communities during this Coronavirus, particularly those communities which are more

vulnerable.

• Wisdom for our Health & Government leaders as they navigate matters related to the Coronavirus.

• For peace and comfort for the Schroder family and others as they mourn the passing of Neil Schroder.

• For some rest in this coming holiday period while we also find ways to continue effective learning but in different

settings.

• Just as the RCCC pioneers were moved by God to consider a different way for their children’s education almost 40

years’ ago, as we approach and move beyond this significant milestone, please continue in prayer and listening for

what God now wants us to be and to do as a school community.

Parents and friends are also welcome to a time of prayer at home or at school each Monday during the school

term, 8.50am to 9.15am, in the meeting room off the front office.

Uniform Changeover

The first two weeks of next term is a changeover

period from Summer to Winter uniform. During this

time students can either wear the full Summer or full

winter uniform but from Monday April 27th onwards,

only full winter uniform should be worn. However,

please have students’ school hats available as there will

likely be a number of days where they will be needed

for an outside event and please see Joan Cardwell in

the front office to arrange any uniform purchase needs

you may have.

National Assessment Program – Literacy and Numeracy

(NAPLAN)

Late last week it was announced that NAPLAN will be

cancelled for this year. This includes the Coordinated

Practice Test that was scheduled for today and the various

tests scheduled in May for students in Years 3, 5, 7 & 9. This

decision was taken nationally by the combined Education

Ministers to “assist school leaders, teachers and support staff

to focus on the wellbeing of students and continuity of

education, including potential online and remote learning.

Further, the impact of responses to the COVID-19 virus may

affect the delivery of NAPLAN testing, including the

operation of centralised marking centres and the

implications for nationally comparable data if an insufficient

number of students are available to do the test.” NAPLAN is

just one of the assessment tools used by schools and we will

continue with other relevant assessments to help direct us in

helping your child achieve their potential.

Progressive House

Points

JOSHUA and CALEB

Joshua - 14,910

Caleb - 10,600

RCCC Board News

The School Board met for its usual monthly meeting last

week and while the school year has started well in many

ways and better than budget, the need to find effective ways

to serve our families in the current Coronavirus environment

will clearly be a challenge and focus. The Board’s next

scheduled meeting is April 22nd

but we are able to handle

issues as they arise in the interim by a variety of means. The

auditors are well advanced in preparing our annual financial

report for 2019 and the AGM for River City Christian

College Inc. is currently scheduled for May 27th.

Playgroup

Playgroup has concluded for this term. Please stay tuned for

a starting date to be set in Term 2 once it’s right health-wise

to do that. Please also continue to look out for ways to

support one another in the interim.

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Class of the week is Mitchell

Well done to the amazing students in Years P-2

End of Term Accounts Finalisation

A reminder that we would like all term fees finalised

by the end of term unless other arrangements have

been made.

Q: What is the difference between here and there?

……………..(Answer on last page)

Merit Award Winners

for Term 1 week 07

Ned McDonald - for his decent, respectful

and fair attitude every week during Sport

Bobby Wiltshire for showing kindness to

others

Gabriella Attwell for her focus and effort in

Mathematics as we learn about decimal

fractions

Jack Johnstone for his ability to stay on

task during the On Demand tests. Jack

never gave up

Miley Wiltshire for huge interest and effort

at writing narratives

Michael Pikokivaka for his kindness and

support to others

Congratulations everyone!

An addition to our Term 2 school calendar

When first publishing our 2020 calendar to the school

community, we advised that an additional staff

professional development day may be identified as we

got into the year. It’s now been decided that Monday

May 4th will be that day and no students will be at

school on that occasion.

An opportunity has arisen for a Learning Support

teacher from a Christian school in Melbourne to be

with us again on the previous Friday to assess some of

our students. She will then stay on for the Monday to

help our staff implement her recommendations and

take up some of the assessment tools ourselves.

Office Arrangements

The school office will be open as usual this week. We will then take a break for a week, re

-opening 9am to 4pm, Monday April 6th to Thursday April 9th. Term 2 will commence

for the office on Tuesday April 14th and 8am to 4.30pm from then on.

Student Representative

Committee—Part A

SRC Primary Award

Goes to Jed Russell for his building confidence

SRC Secondary Award

Goes to Matthew Campbell for always trying his

best in all things

Student Representative

Committee—Part B

SRC Primary Award

Goes to Ollie Borg for his positiveness

SRC Secondary Award

Goes to Kyla Groot for being welcoming and kind

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Fun Run Top 5 Primary School scores below. The Primary School ran 2.5km.

Gabriella, 12:53 (new record!!) Levi, 12:55; Trinity, 13:13; Tom, 17:29; Jahleel, 18:14

Top 5 Secondary School scores below. The Secondary School ran 5km.

Simon, 29:58; Michael, 33:04; Mia, 34:51; Riley, 38:42; Rowan, 49:38

The money raised so far is $420 which will be split between the Food Bank and our Compassion sponsor child. Thanks so much to all who contributed in this way and if you still need to return your sponsorship money, please do so in the next few days.

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Contact Us: Phone: 03 5482 4594

Website: www.rccc.vic.edu.au

Email: reception@rccc.vic.edu.au

BSB: 063 511 Account: 1005 5226

River City

Christian College

School Calendar of Events

Answer:

The Letter T.

Mar 2020

2 Theatre sports

workshop Week 5

3 Yr 9/10 High

Country Camp

4 Yr 9/10 High

Country Camp Playgroup

5 Yr 9/10 High

Country Camp

6 Yr 9/10 High

Country Camp

7

8

9 Labour Day

Public Holiday Week 6

10

11 Yr 7

Immunisation. Playgroup

12

13 Beacon

Business Breakfast

14 Working Bee

15

16 Fun Run

“Mission” fundraiser Week 7

17

18 Yr 7/8 camp

19 Yr 7/8 camp

20 Yr 7/8 camp

21

22

23 Harmony Day Last day of Term 1. Week 8

24

25 Parent/Teacher

meetings by phone

26

27 28 Holidays

29 Holidays

30 Holidays

31 Holidays

1 Holidays

2 Holidays

3 Holidays

4 Holidays

5 Holidays Daylight Savings

ends

Apr 2020

6 Holidays

7 Holidays

8 Holidays

9 Holidays

10 Good Friday

Holidays

11 Holidays

12 Easter Sunday

Holidays

13 Easter Monday Week 1

14 1st day Term 2

15 Playgroup

16 Yr 10

Immunisations

17

18

19

20 Road Smart

session – Yr 10 Week 2

21

22 Playgroup

23

24 BUPA

25 ANZAC DAY

26

27 Week 3

28

29 Playgroup

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1

2

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