The Heritage Herald

Week 10 - Thursday 6 April 2023

Easter Celebration

Dear families,

As we near the end of term one, we reflect on a powerful term of learning that has been edged with desperate sadness. During the past fortnight, our school community has been deeply affected by the unexpected passing of our beloved staff member, Mrs. Dures. The kindness and support of our school parent community during this difficult time has been heartening. Your words of comfort, prayers, and acts of service have meant so much to us. Thank you for sharing the love of Christ in tangible ways.

As we approach Easter, we reflect on the significance of this time and the hope that we have in Christ. In 1 Corinthians 15, Paul reminds us that "Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures." This is the foundation of our faith and the source of our hope. Christ's death and resurrection was promised by God, prophesied, and planned ahead of time. Because of this we know we put our hope in a God who is in control, who knows the future, and who works all things for good for those who love Him.

At our recent Easter chapel service, we were reminded of this hope through a wonderful puppet show by our visitors from Sydney Missionary and Bible College and led in worship by our student band. Mr. Hickey reminded us that Jesus' death and resurrection is an invitation to everyone; to repent for the kingdom of heaven is near.

In Revelation 21, John writes of a beautiful image of heaven: "I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away... And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, 'Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.'" This image of heaven is presented as a holy city, everyone has access to God and belongs to Him. It is a reminder of the hope that we have in Christ - a hope that goes beyond this life and into eternity. It is a hope that sustains us during difficult times, and provides peace and joy.

As we rest over the Easter break and prepare for the start of term two, let us hold on to the hope that we have in Christ. The resurrection of Christ is not just a historical event, but a present reality in our lives. Let us live with confidence and joy, knowing that Christ has conquered death and given us the gift of eternal life.

May God bless you and your family during Easter.

Praying in thanks for our school community


Yours sincerely 

Matt Cohen 

Principal 

Important Notices

Holiday Office Hours

We are excited to see our front office renovations underway, which will continue into the school holiday break. This project will modernise our facilities and create new and functional office spaces for our business services team.

During the holidays our school office will be closed due to renovations. If you need to contact the school, please email us at admin@heritage.nsw.edu.au

Anzac Day March

This year, ANZAC day (25th of April) falls the day before school commences officially for Term 2. In Port Macquarie, it is custom for schools and other community groups to march along Horton Street to the Town Square Cenotaph where they then participate in the 11am service. 

This year Heritage Christian School staff and students will be marching and taking part in the 11am Anzac Day service where students from our Student Leadership Team will be laying a wreath. We ask that families drop their students at Horton Street (at the William, Street intersection near KFC) at 9:30am. Keep an eye out for the school banner. We ask that parents/carers meet with us as the service concludes on Town Green to collect your child.

We ask that all students wear their formal uniform including a school hat (accurately and appropriately to mark the gravity of the ANZAC ceremony). Students are also invited to wear rosemary and/or family medals, as appropriate on their uniforms for the march.

Term 2 Return Date

We are looking forward to welcoming all students back to school for Term 2 on Wednesday 26th April 2023. 

Recent School Events

Easter Chapel Service

Our students recently enjoyed a whole school Easter Chapel service where they learnt about the “greatest swap in history” as a part of a special Easter message from a great team who visited our school from Sydney Missionary and Bible College. They were also led in worship by our student band. Be sure to ask your children about the song, puppet show and what they think about the greatest swap in history.

CSU Explore Day

On Tuesday, 28th March, students from Years 10, 11 & 12 took part in the CSU Explore Day. We joined students from all over the state in taking up the opportunity to get a bird's eye view of life at university. Students got to participate in degree-specific workshops and campus tours and enjoy time with each other around the campus over food and games in the grassed area. It was a great day to be a part of, and our students enjoyed the possibilities presented if they were to follow the Tertiary pathway.


Mrs Belinda Keast

Year 10 Advisor

Chess Competition

During Term 1, students had the opportunity to compete for a place in the Secondary School Chess Team. We had 14 students from Yrs 7-12  participate in a round-robin competition during Co-Curricular, where they challenged their skills and learnt from their peers.

Recently, the team travelled to Hastings Secondary College to compete against their chess team. Students started with a warmup game to familiarise themselves with their opponent and calm any nerves. Each student went into the competition game with a specific strategy they would play to beat their opponent. The room was silent, the students were focused, and their attention was paramount. Check out how well some of our Senior Students went! 

Zac played a general game as practice, stopping his opponent from guessing the tactics that he would apply in the next game. Zac’s opponent has a very high ranking in the Australian Chess league tables and was expected to win. However, Zac’s strategy and critical thinking won out during the competition game. Well done Zac.

Blake played two strong games, focusing on removing the important pieces. His concentration was intense and each move was purposeful. Unfortunately, Hastings won both of these games. Good game Blake.

Jared chased his opponent around the board, and eventually was held at the back of the board by his opponent and conceded defeat to both games. Good playing Jared.

Overall, the time together was friendly and great competition. Students congratulated and learnt from each other. Mutual respect and admiration, as capable Chess players, were evident.

Congratulations team. You will now be entered into the second round and play several other schools throughout the Mid-North Coast region in term 2. 


Mrs Rachel Lilley 

Head of Inclusive Learning and Teaching

2023 Eastcoast Hastings School Futsal Titles

Recently, Heritage CS entered 2 teams into the local Eastcoast Hastings School Futsal Titles here in Port Macquarie. Every student demonstrated a Christian character, a yearning to learn, a team spirit of belonging, and responded by playing to the best of their ability.  

Futsal is a fast-paced sport where agility, coordination and team skills are important. Each team had experienced players who led and encouraged those players new to the sport.

Year 7&8 Boys played exceptionally well. We won 5 of our 6 pool matches to finish 1st in our pool. This allowed us to progress to the semi-finals against Mackillop; unfortunately, we lost 2-0. The boys showed exemplary team skills to encourage each other which factored heavily in their wins. A massive thank you to the boys who spent some time on the bench but remained positive and supportive of their teammates. Well done: Phoenix, Tom Mc, Peter, Jacob, Tom B, Caidyn, Tim, Justin, Ben W and Ben H.

The Year 9&10 boys team also played extremely well. Up against some very strong opposition from Taree to Kempsey they played 9 matches throughout the day. Despite not making the playoffs they kept their heads held high and enjoyed the experience. Congratulations: Charlie, Asher, Jack, Sonny, Axel, Cooper, Ethan, Braiden and Daniel.

A huge thank you to the parents who came to cheer on their boys and to Mick Day who organised a great event.

 

Mr Mick Baldwin

Sports Coordinator 

Introducing.....

New Staff Members

With a number of new staff having joined the school community this year, we have invited them to share a little about themselves in our Herald to introduce them to you.  This week we welcome Ms Jessica Morrissey.

Ms Jessica Morrissey - Year 3/4 Teacher

  • Where have you come from?

I recently relocated from Tamworth - The country music capital of Australia 🎸

  • What do you value about Christian Education?

I value that everything we do comes back to God, His word and His truth. That the bible is our strong foundation and is embedded not only the curriculum, but our personal lives, relationships, and community. Through this, the students truly begin to understand and experience the everlasting love of Jesus Christ. 

  • For term 1, our focus value at Heritage is Learning with Courage. What does Learning with Courage look like in your classroom? 

Learning with courage looks like students who actively participate, ask questions, embrace the challenge, work persistently, learn from their mistakes and practice self-compassion along the way. This is how I encourage the students to learn with courage. 

  • What do you love to do for fun?

Some of my interests that bring me joy include ocean swims, being outdoors and getting active, I love to paddle board, hike, and play a game of tennis!  I also enjoy watching an evening sunset with loved ones, down at the beach with some fish and chips!! Yum!! 

Learning with Courage in Junior School

Mark 12 Award Recipients - Week 8

Congratulations to our recent Mark 12 Award recipients! Keep up the good work!

Clean Up Australia Day Colouring Competition

Congratulations to our winners of the Clean Up Australia Day Colouring Competition!

Learning with Courage in Senior School

Education Perfect Global Languages Championship

We recently competed against other schools around the world in the Education Perfect Global Languages Championship 2023. There were 879,449 students who competed from 2,533 schools, answering over 79,400,000 questions! As a school, we finished 1st for Spanish (in the world) in the 51-99 student category. Amazing results for our students!!!


Mr Mick Baldwin 

Spanish Teacher 

Heritage visits Moruya Drive Childcare Centre

Our Community Service Team has recently partnered with Moruya Drive Child Care Centre to connect and service their children in education and play. Our visits there have been a special time together for building confidence and developing relationships. We thank Moruya Drive Child Care Centre for giving us the opportunity to partner with them! 


Mr Greg Hickey

Head of Discipleship & Wellbeing

Uniform and School Bags

Please see the attachment and link below to access our Uniform Policy and how to purchase the Heritage School bag.  A reminder that the office sells our school calculators at the office for $30. 

https://harlequinkids.com.au/your-school/heritage-christian-school.html

 

Uniform Policy

Download

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https://www.heritage.nsw.edu.au

Heritage Christian School

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