The Heritage Herald

Wednesday morning was special and a memory maker. What a thrill to see the back basketball court brimming with dads, grandpas, significant adults, staff, and kids.

From sunshine, a fire pit, a coffee van and endless egg and bacon rolls; to handshakes, conversations and new friends made; to handball challenges and paper plane making; to thinking about the importance and privilege of fatherhood, the morning was rich in all the best ways.

A particular thank you to one of our school Dads, Nate Bennett who shared generously and honestly of his journey as a dad and the importance of connection with our children. Nate also reminded us of the example and care we have in God, our Heavenly Father. What security He brings to every journey; fatherhood included.

And special mention goes to Dennis, Braeden and Ruby-Anne Apps who made a paper plane that soared an impressive 25m. They are the winners of the inaugural HCS Father’s Day Paper Plane Competition and first names on the perpetual trophy.

Thank you to all who took time to come to our Father's Day Breakfast. What wonderful community we have at Heritage. 

In Year 12 Biology, we have been studying the workings of the human body; specifically, we have been investigating the nervous system’s role. As part of our study, we performed a brain dissection. Alongside our dissection, we used another part of God’s creation to model a brain, the humble cauliflower!

We marveled at how we could see patterns in God’s creation and how we could use half a cauliflower to help us make connections and understand the form and function of the brain. Our bodies are truly amazing!

Casey Baldwin

We had a fabulous NAIDOC day on Wednesday 23 August, celebrating First Nations culture and achievements. We had some special guests: Roger Munro from the local Birpai Land Council, Uncle Mick and Aunty Marg Saunders from Mid Coast Christian College, Tristrum from Strong Spirit Aboriginal Services, Steve Donovan doing dance workshops and parents.

 There was face painting, headband making, rock painting, kangaroo tasting, boomerang throwing, dance workshops, cultural workshops and in-class activities. We enjoyed an all-school assembly where we heard from our guests about what ‘For Our Elders’ means to them. We were treated to some dances by Steve Donovan and students Bosston, Jardine and Bligh. Acknowledgement of Country was given by Cooper Leonard, our MC was Dacodia Pagarno and a vocal item was sung by Marndah.

Lestelle Tafai

Congratulations to Lillian Gittins in Year 10, who became our latest recipient of the Silver Duke of Edinburgh Award. To complete her Silver, Lillian completed over six months of documented Voluntary Service, Physical Recreation, Skills development, and a three-day Adventurous Journey. It is a significant achievement and we congratulate Lillian on her success.

Dougal Parsons

Deputy Principal - Senior School

This year, we took the ‘Kombi’ from the book ‘Dirt by Sea’ on a tour of the best books in Children’s Literature for 2023. Junior School staff inspired us with persevering with our great ideas in the book ‘Frank’s Red Hat’. Our students and school families embraced the theme ‘Read, Grow, Inspire’ with an amazing array of costumes from books contemporary to classic. Bravo! 

Mrs Hazelgrove

A Quote from Miss Strahorn:

"I was standing near the parents watching each student have their turn walking the center aisle as their character, and I could not wipe the smile off my face. I love literature. I love fun. I love our Junior School family. All three come together beautifully on Book Week. Well done to all. What a wonderful day.

Here is a link to the CBCA 2023 winners announcement:  https://cbca.org.au/winners-2023

"If you don't like to read, you haven't found the right book."

The wise words above come from the great writer J.K. Rowling, and anyone here at Heritage last Friday would have seen many passionate readers offering their book recommendations! It was a great joy to witness our Senior School students and staff supporting the cause for reading here at the school and throughout the community more broadly. Did you know that reading really is the 'silver bullet' for not just academic success but life outcomes? Research unanimously supports the fact that students at or above their expected reading levels are almost guaranteed to have better life outcomes and higher life expectancies. 

Friday was a fun day to celebrate reading, but there is also an encouraging reminder that healthy reading habits will ensure a better future for our students. So, to all our students and families I say, "Find the right book and get into it". Your future self will thank you.

Dougal Parsons

Deputy Principal - Senior School

Heritage Work Experience Week – A huge success

 From Cafes to Carpentry, Florist to Pharmacy, Building to Broadcasting and Radio to Radiography, the recent Heritage Year 10 Work Experience Week was a huge success.

Students, parents and host employers embraced the opportunity, and the feedback from everyone was incredibly positive.

The week certainly helped students to understand the relationship between school studies and the world of work and served to develop greater awareness of their abilities and interests and expand their employability skills.

The Work Experience Week was a part of the broader Career program at Heritage, with students returning to school with a greater awareness of employability skills, personal attributes, and career and post-school tertiary studies planning.

Heritage Christian School thanks all of the host employers for their support and the guidance given to each student.

Don’t hesitate to check out the Heritage Careers website https://www.heritagecscareers.com 

Marty Dures

As a result of the 14-year-old boy’s excellent performance in the local East Coast Hastings School Futsal Titles, they qualified for the next level of competition: The FNNSW Champion of Champions!

On Tuesday, 15 Aug, the team played against teams from Coffs Harbour, Taree, Forster, Laurieton, and fellow Port Macquarie teams. 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. The boys encouraged each other and came away with 2 wins, 1 draw and 3 losses.

All the year 7&8 boys played exceptionally well. Well done: Tom Mc, Peter, Jacob, Tom B, Caidyn, Tim, Justin, Ben W and Ben H.

It was also great to have many parents attend to cheer on their boys.

Mick Baldwin

Sports Coordinator 

At Heritage, we do daily deep learning from looking at the Learning Progressions all the way through to thinking about learning before the bell rings.

 In Year 1, we have been thinking deeply and learning to talk about what we notice and what makes us wonder. You can see Year 1 looking at a maths diagram first thing in the morning.

 In stage 1, we have also been looking at how we collaborate. That work needs to be shared equally, we all need to understand the work and contribute. When we all agree to do our best, this makes our learning great. 

Rebekah Cohen