Mr Irwin Steyn - Head of Campus, Kellyville
Imagine going to the doctor's office for a check-up. The doctor says to you, "You are a magnificent physical specimen. You have the body of an Olympian. You are to be congratulated." Later that day while climbing the stairs, your heart gives out. You find out later your arteries were so clogged that you were, like, one jelly doughnut away from the grim reaper.
You go back to the doctor and say, "Why didn't you tell me?" The doctor says, "Well, I knew your body is in worse shape than it is, but if I tell people stuff like that, they get offended. It's bad for business. They don't come back. I want this to be a safe place where you feel loved and accepted." You'd be furious! You'd say to the doctor, "When it comes to my body, I want the truth!"
Obviously, when something matters to us, we do not want illusory comfort based on pain avoidance. We want truth.
As a school community we understand the uniqueness of every child and by spending time with them want to tap into their potential to help them to be the best they can be. We’ve reached the end of week 4 already and in a few weeks we will be having our interim report night where the teachers will share some ‘truth’ with you about how your child has been progressing. We hope to see you there.
Counsellor's Corner
Sleep is often overlooked when treating the health and wellbeing of children and teenagers, but modern research indicates that it is an important factor in mental, emotional and physical health.
It is concerning that there are studies indicating that children and teens are not getting enough sleep, especially during the school week. Teenagers need between 8-10 hours per night, while children need between 9 and 11 hours of sleep a night.
If your child or teenager complains that they are tired, has difficulty focussing, is moody, or is not achieving to their potential academically, consider how much sleep they are getting.
For more information on sleep, view the following links that address sleep for teens and children:
- Mrs Sarah Kross
Counselling Services at Hills
As part of maintaining well-being among our students, we offer free, confidential counselling services to all students. Counselling can help your child learn more about themselves and others, develop new skills, increase their emotional intelligence and help them reach their potential.
Times may arise in your child’s life where they need extra emotional support, or there is a noticeable change in their normal pattern of behavior, they would like to talk to someone or you are concerned about their well-being. You are welcome to chat with our counselling staff to get support for you and your child. These services are strictly confidential and require your consent.
The counsellors use practical methods such as art and play therapy to work with children and also structured programs. Sessions usually cover how to understand and manage their emotions and build good relationships. Sessions are usually once a week and can range from 30 to 50 minutes depending on the child. You or the child can terminate counselling at any time, there is no set number of sessions that they have to attend.
This year, Jeanelle Harvey has joined our counselling staff. She is a trained counsellor & psychotherapist. Jeanelle has worked in numerous fields and with various age groups. She has previous experience working in a junior school, local community centre, a health retreat and private practice. She finds working with children very refreshing. She is passionate about empowering kids and helping them build emotional resilience.
To find out more about the counselling services or to make and appointment you can contact the counselling staff:
Jeanelle Harvey – jeanelle.harvey@hills.adventist.edu.au or
Sarah Kross – sarah.kross@gs.adventist.edu.au
School Stream App
Did you know that Hills Adventist College has an app you can download to your device to find out information about events at the College? You can also submit your absence notification, get real-time notifications about the College and more! If your children are on one campus only, you can filter information to only see the relevant campus for you. Look for the School Stream app in the App Store or in Google Play and once downloaded, search for Hills Adventist College.
Music Tuition
If your child is interested in learning Piano or Voice, we have a new tutor starting, Katia Pronin, who will offer these services. Please see the link below to register your expression of interest in this service.
Elevate Education Seminars
As you may be aware, Elevate Education currently work with the College, running a series of study skills seminars over the year that have been designed to help prepare your child for the challenges of HSC. In addition to this, Elevate also runs a 1-1 Coaching program, offering specialised study skills coaching based on 18 years of research into the habits of top performing students. Elevate works with 1200 schools across Australia and is regarded as a global leader in study skills and student performance.
Elevate’s Coaching Program starts with a free study skills interview with your child to determine your child’s study strengths and weaknesses. This information is then used to develop a tailored program run over a 4,8 or 12 week period. Please call 1300 667 945 or email auscoaching@elevateeducation.com to book your free study skills interview and for further information.
Please note that the uniform shop is now stocking new Middle & Senior Girls Blouses. The new blouses have been tested extensively and will not have a problem after laundering, as some current blouses have had. If you have a blouse that has been affected, and you purchased it in the last 12 months, please take it back to the Uniform Shop for a full exchange. Limited stock is available currently in the new blouses, and more stock will be arriving early in Term 2. Alinta thanks you for your patience as they worked on this quality control issue, and are pleased to be able to now offer completely new and improved stock in the blouses. If you have any issues, please speak to the Uniform Shop Sales Assistant, or alternatively contact Ashley Pinchbeck, Area Manager for Alinta on 0435 187 653. Please note the College does not run the Uniform Shop, so our Receptionists are not able to assist with queries you have in relation to stock at the Uniform Shop. Trading Hours are listed on the College website under "Parent Information", then under "Uniforms".
College News
Australian Mathematics Competitions
Please click on the link below to read more information and apply for the 2019 Australian Mathematics Trust Competitions, which are open to students from Year 5 to Year 12. Applications close Friday 1 March. If you have any questions, please speak to Mrs Hutanu, Head of the Mathematics Department at: nicoleta.hutanu@hills.adventist.edu.au
Kellyville Kindy's Visit from the King's Messenger
Kindy have had a wonderful start to their schooling adventure. They were visited by Dr Coulson who read a letter from the "King of the Universe" welcoming them to school and introducing our Bible unit for this term.
Castle Hill Kindys enjoy time with their Book Buddies
Kindergarten A and Year 4 have started Book Buddies this last week. They are so excited to spend time with the Year 4s and listen to a great book. These are special bonds that will last all through their early school years.
- Mrs Rudenko and Ms Stanculescu
Year 7 Technology Incursion
The melodious sound of cows mooing echoed through the Kellyville campus on Tuesday the 12th of February. A pair of dairy cows, their handlers and a calf had moved in for the morning to visit our year 7 students for Technology (Agriculture and Food). They were here to teach them about the processes that milk goes through before it reaches our supermarket shelves and the importance of sustainability in the dairy industry. Our students all got the opportunity to milk a cow, as well as had fun making a couple of dairy products. The highlight, though, for most of the students would probably have been when they got to meet and pet a calf. Overall, the kids thoroughly enjoyed the experience. Thank you to the team from A Smart Farmer for running such an informative and engaging experience for our year 7s. Also a special thank you to Mrs Ashby for your exciting stories from growing up on a dairy farm
Former Hills Student - Illustration Exhibit
Jenni Goodman (Dittmer) a former Hills student from the 1980's, is holding an exhibition of her latest work, as the illustrator of the latest Storm Boy books. Click on the link below to see more information about the Exhibit. We love to hear the great things our Alumni are getting up to, fantastic achievement, Jenni!
Sports News
Primary Swimming Carnival
After all of the warm weather we have had, it has finally cooled down. Just in time for our annual K-6 and Novice Swimming Carnival too. Our God has promised not to give us anything we can't handle and although the weather may have been overcast with a slight drizzle, it did not dampen the competitive spirit of our students. It was fantastic to see many students braving the cooler weather, diving into the water and earning points for their House.
Thank you to all of the parents who came along to support the event and a special thank you to all of our volunteers who helped us throughout the day too.
Now the process of checking results and tallying points begins. The students are excited to find out which House earned the most points on the day. We will notify you soon when we will be having our K-6 Swimming Carnival presentation.
- Mr Marsden, Head of Campus, Castle Hill
Chloe's Achievement in Little Athletics
Chloe C (Year 7) recently participated at the Little Athletics Regional Championships in Discus, High Jump and 60m hurdles.
Although she didn’t make the top 3 for high jump and hurdles she did a personal best of 27.74m in Discus receiving 3rd place and a bronze medal.
Chloe will know of the next couple of weeks if she has made it through to State Championships for Discus. Fantastic effort Chloe! We are so proud of you.
Aaryan to play at State Level
Congratulations to Aaryan D (Year 9) who has been selected to play on the NSW 15 and Under State Team for Indoor Cricket. Aaryan will be representing his state in the National Championships, to be held in Melbourne in July. We wish you all the best for your upcoming games, Aaryan! Well done.
Church & Community Announcements
Parenting Workshop
Language Tuition
If you would like your child to learn Mandarin, after-school classes are being offered in the Castle Hill Seventh-day Adventist Church Hall, adjacent to the Castle Hill Campus. Click on the link below for more information