WCCS Newsletter - Wyong Christian Community School

Principal's Message - Week 7, Term 4

Last week I received a message from a friend of mine who explained that his father had gone to be with Jesus unexpectedly. His message read, ‘He was in perfect health, just happened to fall and hit his head at a little league baseball game for his grandson – it was clearly his time.’ It was tremendously encouraging to know that he had genuinely accepted Jesus as his Lord and Saviour and now has the eternal blessing of being with Him forever.

At school, we often talk about Psalm 139, about how we are fearfully and wonderfully made. That is true, and a wonderful blessing. At the same time, a little later in the same Psalm we read, “All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.” It is another reminder that God is in control of all things, and He already knows how many days we will live on this earth. Some of us may have many decades to look forward to, for others we may feel we are already on the countdown.

Regardless of how many days God has ordained for us to be on this earth, what is the same for all of us is the reality that at some point we will come into God’s presence. For those of us who have acknowledged Jesus for who He is and what He has done – it is a day to look forward to. As the Apostle Paul writes in Philippians 1:21,^“For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.” For those who have not taken this step, the Bible explains in Hebrews 10:31: “It is a dreadful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.”

Each day when your children come to school, it is our intention to help them understand more of who Jesus is and what it means to be His disciple. That we all might respond as Peter did when Jesus asked him whether he wanted to give up on following Christ: “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. We have come to believe and to know that you are the Holy One of God.” - John 6:68.

As we come towards the season of Christmas, it is a wonderful time for us all to be reminded of the significance of God coming to earth as a person. Living and dying and rising again, that we all, like my friend’s father, may go on to live forever with Him. It is our heart's desire that all our students, indeed all members of our community, live with the peace and assurance of this truth.

God bless,

Community News - Week 7, Term 4

TERM 4 CELEBRATION ASSEMBLIES

Our Term 4 Celebration Assemblies will be held on Wednesday 10th December to recognise and commend some of our students’ hard work and Christian attitude this term/year. Our assemblies will take place in our Multi-Purpose Centre and all parents are welcome to attend. Details are as follows:

Junior School at 9am
Secondary School at 12pm

Parents of award recipients will be notified via email by Wednesday 3rd December (Week 8).

PRESENTATION EVENING

Our end of year Presentation Evening will be held on Thursday 11th December at 7pm. Not only will this evening highlight the achievements of some of our students, but we have some wonderful performances planned. We would love to have you join us as we celebrate 2025 at WCCS.

All students attending should wear their full school uniform. Parents of award recipients will be notified via email by Thursday 4th December (Week 8).

2026 OPAL CARDS

Will your child be catching the bus to school next year? Applications are now open for 2026 School Opal cards. As this is a busy time of year, we highly recommend applying before the end of this year. It’s also a good idea to check the bus timetable to help make your child’s journey to school as easy as possible.

School Opal cards:

All students catching the bus in 2026 will need a School Opal card.
Under the School Student Transport Scheme (SSTS), eligible students can apply for free or subsidised travel between home and school.
For more information about the SSTS and how to apply for a School Opal Card, visit https://apps.transport.nsw.gov.au/ssts/#/ (best accessed from a desktop computer) click 'Apply now'.

Existing Opal Card holders will not need to reapply, unless their home address has changed.

SCHOOL UNIFORM ON THE LAST DAY OF SCHOOL

All students (K-12) are permitted to wear their sports uniform on the last day of school (Thursday 11th December). This will allow for school uniforms to be neat and tidy, ready for Presentation Evening.

LIBRARY RESOURCE RETURN

Please be reminded that all books and textbooks borrowed from the Library are due back now. Please ensure these are returned as soon as possible. Thank you for your understanding.

Please note that the Library will be closed in the last week of school (Week 9).

LOST PROPERTY

Lost property will be cleared out during the holidays. If your child is missing anything, please remind them to check lost property in our office before the end of term. Thank you.

ALINTA UNIFORM SHOP - UNIFORM FITTING BOOKINGS

Existing and new students requiring uniforms for 2026 will be required to make a fitting appointment with the Alinta Uniform Shop. Please visit www.alintaapparel.com.au to register and book an appointment online, or shop online.

You can also view the Alinta/WCCS Uniform Guide here.

JUNIOR SCHOOL GRANDPARENTS' MORNING

CHRISTMAS FEST

JUNIOR SCHOOL CAROLS EVENING

Please join us after Christmas Fest for our annual Junior School Carols Evening commencing at 6:30pm in the Multi-Purpose Centre.

WOOSH VACATION CARE - DECEMBER 2025

Please click here to view the WOOSH Vacation Care program for December. The January program will be available at a later date.

SECONDARY SCHOOL SWAPTOBER

WCCS is partnering with Baptist World Aid this November to bring our Secondary School its first ever Swaptober event. On Thursday 27th November after Chapel, Secondary students who wish to participate in a mass clothes swap will be able to do so.

It is time to bring your clothes to school this week (Week 7) where they can be sorted ready for the Swaptober event. For each item of clothing brought in, a student will receive purchase tokens. These tokens are then exchanged at the clothes swap after Chapel. Those involved will essentially be getting new clothes without Fast Fashion being rewarded. Items to donate include:

T-shirts, shirts, blouses etc
Shorts, skirts, pants, jeans etc
Hoodies, jumpers, jackets etc
Shoes, sandals etc

So, bring in 3-5 clean items of clothing you might normally give to an op-shop and get excited for Swaptober. Our prefects will be collecting the items of clothing outside E5 Monday to Wednesday before school. You can also donate to Baptist World Aid via our school’s personalised link if you would like to assist in their work. Follow the link below to donate.

Wyong Christian Community School • Swaptober 2025

Please note, any leftover items at the end of Swaptober will be donated to a local op-shop to help fight fast fashion.

Thanks for getting involved.

Rev Matt Shorten | School Chaplain

Assistant Principal's Message - Week 7, Term 4

SOCIAL MEDIA AGE RESTRICTIONS - WEDNESDAY 10TH DECEMBER

We’d like to update our community on new social media age restrictions coming into effect on Wednesday 10th December 2025, introduced by the Australian Government and supported by the eSafety Commissioner. These changes aim to better protect young people online.

What is changing?

From 10th December, major platforms including Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok, X, YouTube, Reddit and Kick will need to take reasonable steps to stop users under 16 from creating or maintaining accounts. This shift places responsibility on platforms, not families or young people, to help reduce exposure to harmful content, manipulative design features, and online risks.

Existing under-16 users may have their accounts deactivated and could be asked to verify their age. Some platforms are beginning this process early and young people are being encouraged to download their data before this happens.

Why is it changing?

The eSafety Commissioner highlights that early social media use can expose young people to:

emotionally manipulative algorithmic content (content that can feel overwhelming, upsetting, or difficult for young people to process)

cyberbullying or distressing material (unkind online interactions or material that may make them feel uncomfortable or distressed)
pressure to engage excessively with apps (subtle pressures that encourage them to spend more time online than feels healthy or balanced)

The goal is to give children and teens more time to develop digital, social, and emotional skills before entering full social media environments.

Supporting Young People

While many people will acknowledge the benefits of this delay to accessing social media, this may be a tricky change for many of our young people. Here are some suggestions for how to prepare your child most effectively for this change:

Talk openly: Ask how they currently use social media, how they feel about the change, and reassure them this is a delay, not a punishment.
Plan ahead: Help them download photos or messages they want to keep. Discuss balanced screen habits and alternative ways to connect with friends.
Build skills: Use this as a chance to reinforce digital literacy, privacy awareness, and respectful online behaviour.

What support is available?

There are many ways that young people can access support. Here are some suggestions:

Kids Helpline (5–25): https://kidshelpline.com.au/ or 1800 55 1800

Headspace (12–25): https://headspace.org.au/online-and-phone-support/connect-with-us/ or 1800 650 890

Beyond Blue: https://www.beyondblue.org.au/ or 1300 22 4636

eSafety Commissioners resources for families:

https://www.esafety.gov.au/parents/social-media-age-restrictions

including free parent/carer webinars: https://www.esafety.gov.au/parents/social-media-age-restrictions#tools-and-webinars

https://vimeo.com/1134027616?fl=pl&fe=sh

How can WCCS help?

We will continue to support students through digital citizenship lessons, wellbeing programs, and access to counselling if needed. We can also assist families with resources or information sessions on request.

Please keep an eye out for our new 2026 Parent Seminar on Positive Online Behaviours. We’ll be offering this information session on multiple occasions next year as part of our proactive wellbeing program. We truly value your partnership as we continue to grow together in supporting our young people to navigate their online worlds with Christ-like values for themselves and others. We will share the confirmed event dates with families as soon as possible, encouraging you to book your preferred date early.

If you have questions or concerns, please contact our Wellbeing Team or School Leadership. Together, we can help our students navigate the online world safely and confidently.

God Bless,

Q & A with Rev - Week 7, Term 4

I'm not sure if you read last Newsletter’s Q & A, but I shared that I received a question that was a first for me in 21 years of chaplaincy.

So, here’s the question! “What were Jesus' first words?”

What a great question! We had to do some deep wondering about this in Year 6. There are, as far as I am aware, no scholars who have explored this question. In fact, we have very little information about Jesus’ early life. Only the Gospels of Matthew and Luke talk about his childhood, whereas Mark and John dive straight into His adult ministry time. Both Matthew and Luke reveal that Jesus was born into a poor but faithful Jewish family in a land under Roman occupation. His first language would have been Aramaic, but He would have learned Hebrew, the language of the Jews, as well. Even in ancient Egypt, when He was a refugee as a child, the spoken language was Aramaic. Interestingly though, Greek was also used as a language of commerce at the time, and the New Testament was written in Greek. So, most scholars believe Jesus would have spoken Greek as well.

But what of His first word? Year 6 and I wondered if it would have been “Abba” which is Aramaic for “Father” or more accurately “Daddy” or “Papa.” It's similar to many Aussie kids' first word, “Dada.” Our girls were all different. My eldest learnt sign language first and could sign words like “more", "toilet" and "thank you.” Our middle daughter was a hard, “NO” and yes, it seemed like it was all caps. Our youngest was the traditional “Da”, which of course I helped her quickly get to “Dada.” Mum is a much harder word to say and this is true even in Aramaic where it is the word, “Imma” but pronounced more like “Eema.”

So, no matter what Jesus’ first word was, it really is quite amazing how many of His words we have preserved in the Gospels. Each sentence reveals a little bit more about who He is and His desire for humanity to understand the wonder of who God is. As we read them, we can be drawn into the joy of God’s love for us, both as individuals and as His family.

Jesus spoke to all sorts of people and regardless of who they were He invited them into relationship. His words still speak to us today and in fact the Apostle Paul in Romans 8:15 encourages us that Jesus’ Spirit compels His followers to cry out, “Abba, Father!” These are words of intimate relationship, words of love and familial affection. May you be encouraged to call out to our Father in Heaven, knowing that He is listening, that He knows your voice and that He cares for you more abundantly than even Mary cared for her baby Jesus.

God bless,