From our Principal – Mr Neville Stanway

Dear Parents/Guardians,

As we conclude 2023, I am reminded of the Scripture we set at the beginning of the year (Philippians 3:12-14) where the Apostle Paul exhorts us ‘…to press on…reach forward to those things which are ahead…press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus’. At Foundation Christian College, we have an incredible opportunity to journey with staff, students, and parents on this adventure of faith in God. It has been exciting to see evidence of some students coming to Christ, others growing in Christ, and others living for Christ.  

I want to take this opportunity to acknowledge the devotion and commitment of staff, and the hard work they have put in throughout the year. Being part of a team of dedicated staff makes the task so much easier when everyone contributes, and they all have different skills and experience. The Primary and Secondary Leadership teams have been busy finalizing reports, organizing the Award Assemblies and other end-of-semester events, and planning for 2024.

Staffing Updates

There are a couple of recent staffing updates I need to share with you. At the end of the year we will farewell the following staff:

• Jared Smith (Year 4) is finishing up at the end of the year, because he is moving up to Perth.
• Bianca Roos (Year 1) is finishing up at the end of the year for family reasons.
• Amber Botha (Kindy)  is finishing up at the end of the year to focus more on family; however she will remain connected to the College in a relief teaching capacity.
• Isabel Pienaar (Registrar) is moving back to South Australia to be with her family. (Her daughter is expecting their first grandchild.)
• Michelle Burns (Events Coordinator) has resigned as of the end of the year to pursue business and ministry options.
• Brad Angelos (Curriculum Coordinator 7-12) has been offered a promotional position as a Secondary Deputy Principal of Student Services at another Independent Secondary school, so he will be leaving at the end of the year.
• Pierre Botha (MDT) and his family are relocating up to Karratha for him and his wife Sam to work at an Independent Secondary school there. 
• Ivor Marillier (Secondary Head of English) has been offered a promotional position as a Secondary Deputy Principal of Curriculum at another Independent Secondary school, so he will be leaving at the end of the year.
• Annemarie Marillier (Secondary Administrator) has been offered a position at another school in Secondary Administration and Pastoral Care.

As each of these staff members move forward into this next phase of their life, we pray God’s guidance and blessing on them. We are also thankful for their years of service to the College.

Welcome to our New Staff members!

New administration Staff 

• Linda Jones as Registrar (1.0 FTE) has already commenced!! Welcome Linda!  

 New Primary Staff for 2024

• Shellie King as Primary Kindy Teacher (1.0 FTE) to commence in Term 1 2024.  
• Helen Robinson as Primary Year 4 Teacher (1.0 FTE) to commence in Term 1 2024.  

New Secondary staff commencing in 2024

• Hayden Turlington as Secondary Math Teacher (1.0 FTE) to commence in Term 1 2024.  
• Sithara Cheri as Secondary Accounting & Finance Teacher (0.4 FTE) to commence in Term 1 2024.  
• Rebecca Woodage as Secondary Science Teacher (0.6FTE) to commence in Term 1 2024.  
• Melissa Gochez as Secondary French Teacher (0.64 FTE) to commence in Term 1 2024. 
• Michelle Steenkamp as Secondary English Teacher (0.8 FTE) to commence in Term 1 2024.  

Please note: We are still finalising a few positions in both the Primary and Secondary schools, but we will update you prior to the beginning of 2024.

Awards Assemblies

Every year, it is wonderful to listen to the staff share about the progress and accomplishments of the students. Although, only a few students receive awards, the rest of the students should be proud of their hard work and progress in completing another year at school. It is also important for students to recognize how different students excel in various learning areas. The Award Assemblies are an opportunity to honour the achievements of the students and to acknowledge their performance and development across the year.

Our College is truly unique, because we are a Parent Association school. This distinction is based on having a strong connection with parents and partnering together in providing a Christ-centred education to our children. Thank you for your partnership and your support for the staff at the College. I know I speak for all staff, when I say that we see our service here at Foundation Christian College as a ministry, and not ‘just’ a job.

Use this link to access images for our Year 12 Celebration Assembly

Use this link to access images from both our Secondary Awards Ceremonies Year 7-11

Use this link to access images and articles for both Primary Awards Ceremonies

Commencement dates for 2024

• College Office reopens on Monday 15^th January 2024
• Classes commence for 2024 on Wednesday 31^st January 2024
• Please use this link to find our 2024 Calendar with Term Dates

I feel blessed to be able to serve the College in my role as Principal and to have such a great staff to work with. I pray God’s blessing on all staff, students, and parents over the Christmas holiday season. Have a wonderful break with your family and friends, and I look forward to seeing you again in 2024.

God bless you!

Kind Regards,

Mr Neville Stanway

Principal

Year 6 Graduation and Dinner Dance

Our Year 6 Students have enjoyed the end of their final year of Primary School with a wonderful evening being presented their graduation certificates at a special ceremony followed by a dinner/dance.

Mrs Abercrombie and Mr Johnston were DJ and MC extraordinaire, and Mr King managed to show off his best dance moves on the dance floor! A special thanks to our Year 6 teachers, Miss Spencer, Miss Dryland, Mrs Smith and Miss de Swart and our amazing Education Assistants, Mrs Holdsworth and Mrs Gooderson for setting up the hall ready for the party!

Families of children who are now in Secondary School….Enjoy the memories from the night..

Primary Awards Ceremonies

Kindergarten – Year 2 Ceremony

We host an awards ceremony for our College Students to celebrate the wonderful work all of our students do throughout the year. Congratulations to those in Kindergarten to Year 2 who were either nominated for an award or received an award!

A special mention to our Year 3 and 4 Choir and to Bella Richardson for performances at this ceremony.

Year 3 – Year 6 Ceremony

On Wednesday 29 November it was time to celebrate our Year 3-6 Students achievements for 2023. It is a treat to hear the comments from teachers about their class – our children are amazing!

Another special mention and thank you: to our Year 5 and 6 Choir and to Amelia Brook for singing for us at this ceremony.

FCC WINNERS at WACSSA Inter-Athletics Carnival

Our Primary Students were the overall winners at the WACSSA Inter-Athletics Carnival held in November. Students competed against 8 other schools over 2 days of track and field. Not only was our team successful in winning the shield, but they also conducted themselves in a wonderful sportsmanship manner. We were very proud of team FCC!

Year 3 Strings – Concertinos

Our Year 3 cohort have spent the past year learning to play a stringed instrument – either a violin, viola or cello. Under the watchful instruction of our instrument tutors and Mr Shanhun, students have taken on the task of “having a go” and as a celebration of the past year of learning, performed a concertino for their families.

It was a delight to watch students diligently and carefully handling their instruments in preparation of their performance and then playing to a live audience.

We hope that some of these students will elect to continue learning their stringed instrument so that one day we will have strings to add to a FCC Strings orchestra!

Year 6 Market Day

Our Year 6 Students hosted a Market Day on Monday 27 November to fundraise for their graduation celebrations! They raised $850! AMAZING!!

The rest of the College enjoyed a fun lunchtime with many yummy and creative treats! Well done Year 6 Team!

Primary Athletics Carnival

Well done to Jarrah our new Athletics Champions – you broke an 8-year winning streak by Wattle!

A Christmas Reflection from our Christian Living Coordinator – Mrs Laurie Rankin

“Hope has been on my mind of late.

The war in Ukraine, the Oct 7^th Massacre and subsequent war, natural disasters everywhere, pestilence, famines, antisemitism on the rise, riots in many capital cities, civil unrest, a wandering away from truth and morality, an embracing of all kinds of evil and the collapse of Western Society. It can sometimes lead to feelings of despair and an anxiousness about what the future holds for our world, our children, and for us.

When we consider the age and the moment in history in which we live, one can’t help but start to think about the return of Jesus. Dark moments, dark periods in history have come and gone, but this one has the potential to fulfill many biblical prophecies that herald the imminency of Christ’s return. I often say it is the hope of every generation to long for the return of Christ. Ever since the early establishment of the church, the apostles longed for his reappearance. Philippians 3:20-21says “But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body, by the power that enables him even to subject all things to himself.” Revelation 20:22 says; “Even so, come, Lord Jesus!”. He is the blessed hope of everyone who claims Christ as King. The whole of creation longs and groans for his kingship to be established forever and for the rightful restoration and renewal of all things.

The Bible teaches we are not exempt from trials and tribulations, in fact we are to expect them, particularly when living boldly for Christ.  As we come to the end of the of another year and look to the future, I want to draw attention to the hope we have in Jesus. Hope lights up dark places, it whispers in the silence, and speaks encouragement to our hearts. It sustains and keeps us in perfect peace. 1 Corinthians 13 mentions that at the end of all things, three things will remain; faith, hope and love, the greatest being love. We rightly give attention to love, but hope is the spark that ignites the other two in that list.

Hope means to desire and expect for something good in the future. Biblical hope is centered in the Gospel, the good news. When this world ends, or our time in it does, it is not the final chapter for those who claim Christ as their Saviour. Death has lost its sting at the cross. We look forward joyfully to a better place. Heaven is our home. We are passing through this world, in it, but not of it.

When fear crouches at the door we welcome hope into our hearts. We embrace the entrance of Jesus into every situation we face. We invite the Holy Spirit to bring comfort when we are laden with grief. We open the word to give us wisdom and direction for the road ahead. We look to the sovereign God who has ordered our days, who knows the future and holds everything in His hands. We were born for such a time as this, this time in history, this country, this city, the home in which you dwell, the spaces in which you work and have community. We have a purpose. We have a hope to share with others. It is a hope that this world is crying out for. We are the vessels, broken and shabby looking as we may be. We hold a treasure of immeasurable worth, of such eternal value and we should hold this treasure, with reverence and the weightiness of responsibility that it requires.

I don’t know how many strange conversations I’ve had recently with those who don’t know Christ, who are starting to question what is going on in this world. A family member on my husband’s side started asking me about church and God. She said she’d started reading the Bible because all this evil out there, meant surely there was an equal and opposite force of good. What an opportunity we have, to speak hope into people’s lives. To give the good news of the gospel, to be ready to proclaim a reason for the hope we have within us.

May we be encouraged, no matter what road we currently travel, to hold onto hope. May we share that hope with our friends, our family members and those who come across our paths, as we reflect on the true hope of the world this Christmas season. Jesus Christ.”

Welcome Students from Ibarake Christian High School!

What a whirlwind tour our Japanese visitors had in Australia! 

Japanese Students from Ibarake Christian High School arrived after a 24-hour journey on Saturday 2 December and were introduced to their host families. Some FCC families were able to host a student which was fantastic! The rest of the host families were from our Mandurah community.

On Monday morning our Japanese students were treated to a day of Indoor Rock Climbing, Art Class, Sport lesson, Aussie Food tasting and some team building activities. The highlight for their first day at FCC was meeting the Yera 10 students whom they would buddy-up with on Tuesday.

Tuesday was a special day for 6 of our Primary classes who got to spend time doing activities with our Japanese visitors. Students played a Japanese version of “keepy-uppy”, calligraphy, put the face on the person game and origami making animal shapes that would convert to games.

After recess it was time for our Year 10s to meet up with their Japanese friends and take them to class!

In session 7 we were treated to a presentation by the students about life at their school and as a special treat we all enjoyed an icecream from a local icecream van.

Our Japanese Friends spent their final day at Rottnest before heading home on the Thursday 7 December. It was a busy time, but they made some new Aussie friends, had some amazing experiences and we look forward to welcoming students from this school next year!

Year 10 Dinner Dance

Our Year 10s celebrated a wonderful evening of food, photographs and dancing on Friday 10 November! It was a special evening to mark their final year of “middle school” and move towards Senior School. Our students looked very beautiful and handsome dressed in their best – thank you to parents for supporting your student for this occasion.

As promised to our Year 10 Students, here is the gallery of images I took on the evening…

Instrument Recitals and Music for 2024!

Students who were part of the Music Tuition Program performed for family and friends at the end of year Instrument and Vocal recitals in November.

Due to the large number of students enrolled in the program, we had to host 4 recitals to accommodate them all! Students introduced themselves and the music piece they were performing and it was so good to see students rising to the occasion and speaking confidently and performing at their recital. Well done!

As you will see in the images, we have students being tutored in Brass, Stringed and Woodwind Instruments, Piano and Vocals – a wonderful range of musical options for our students at FCC…Perhaps that is why the number of students registered to further their music education in 2024 has already exceeded 140 applications!

Years 7-9 – Awards Evening

Our Secondary Awards Evening was held on 7 November, and it was wonderful to see a full house at each ceremony. Showing support to your teenagers at this type of event means a lot to them and to our staff – all of whom put in a great deal of time in making an event of this calibre happen.  As noted by Mr Stanway and Mr Shanhun the event is not just to congratulate the award recipients but to acknowledge the collective efforts of every student to successfully complete their year at school.

Year 7-9 CLass Award Recipients

Year 7- 9 Academic Awards (dUX)

Year 7-9 Specialist Awards

Enjoy the Gallery of Photographs from the night:

Years 10-11 Awards Ceremony

Following the Year 7-9 Awards Ceremony families enjoyed a light supper and the evening continued to feature the Year 10-11 Awards Ceremony. 

The Years 10-11 Awards, Congratulations to all nominees and award recipients:

Class Awards

Academic Excellence Awards

Secondary Specialist Awards

Enjoy the Gallery of images from the evening….

Year 11 and 12 Recital

Our Year 11 and 12 Drama and Music Recital was a special evening to provide our Arts Students with an opportunity to perform in front of a live audience. For some of these students the performance was part of their final practical assessment. We are so proud of them!

Year 12 Celebration Assembly

What a wonderful tradition we have here at Foundation Christian College to celebrate our Year 12s as a whole College! The worship, prayer time and guard of honour all fit together as a time of celebrating and honouring the 14 years at school that these students have accomplished. 

We may have celebrated our Year 12s back in October, but looking at the images of the celebration assembly brings back so much emotion – I do hope Families of our Year 12s will enjoy reminiscing this special day, as I enjoyed taking photographs.

ALL FCC Laptops to be returned by Wednesday 6 December!!

Dear Families

As the leasing contract for our College Laptops ceases at the end of this year, all FCC Students are required to give back their laptops.

After 8 December they were disabled and no longer able to be used. The College Office is open until 12noon Friday 15 December if you haven’t as yet returned your laptop.

This means that all students from Year 3 to Year 12 returning to FCC next year will get a brand-new laptop!

Governor’s Prayer Breakfast

On Friday 8 September, a number of students and staff from FCC attended the Governor’s Prayer Breakfast. This was a significant event, with charities, corporate, education, government and other sectors represented. We were privileged to hear a very FCC message from Chris Dawson (Governor of WA), ‘Where there is a lack of trust in sure foundations, people will look for other ways to navigate their lives… to whom should we be looking for certainty in our lives? We trust in a God who is a sure foundation.’

John Weiland was the guest speaker, who relayed that ‘the trend of our time is to look to the daily news, our circumstances, or the latest trend, rather than to define ourselves on something more secure. God really is for you, he has your best interest at heart, and he provides us with a sure foundation.’

The event was very positive, and a great experience for all involved. Students and staff all enjoyed their time and the privilege of being part of such a special occasion.

Book Fair – Our Greatest Library Fundraiser Yet!

Our Annual Book Fair sales this year was the Highest on record!!

Families, our total sales for 2023: $4776.00

Thank you for supporting this fundraiser – WE LOVE READING!!

Lost Property – Are you missing any uniform items?

Families, if you have been missing uniform items please visit Student Services and check for lost property before the end of the year.

Any items that are not claimed will be given away at the Student Induction morning on Tuesday 30 January.

2024 Calendar and Term Dates

Join our FCC Business Community!

We like to support our families who run their own business! If you do, please consider joining our Community Business Directory in B2Me.

Our College was one of the first schools to be part of this platform and it is a great way to promote your business and also to link in our community so that we can support you!

The link below takes you to our website where you can either join to register your business or join to be a member and find great businesses to support.

FCC Business Directory – B2Me

Welcome to the following FCC Parents and Business Owners…

Family Camp Out and Games Night!

Our Annual Family Camp Out and Games night was an amazing success!

Over 30 families came along to camp and the oval circumference was full – We enjoyed hamburgers for dinner, a wonderful campfire with marshmallows and a night of NO Technology!

Mr Stanway kept the children entertained with some great games. Octopus, Capture the flag and spotlight were played and children (including some teenagers!) were very enthusiastic competitors! It was special to see our children enjoying the beautiful bushland that is part of our school grounds!

We look forward to our next Camp Out in 2024!

Christmas Cupboard Countdown – THANK YOU!

THANK YOU FAMILIES! Our Christmas Cupboard Countdown for 2023 has been our BIGGEST collection yet!

Lily the camel and her volunteers collected and counted a total of 2189 donations !!

Our volunteers were overjoyed at the enthusiasm and joy the students had when adding items to the basket and upon seeing the volunteers who were very keen to count items!

Included in the images below are images of weeks 1, 2 and 4 collections! The distribution centre for the Peel Community Christmas Hampers!

For your information the top 3 classes of the Christmas Cupboard Countdown were:

Thank you to Gilberts for another donation!

Earlier this term we received a donation from Gilbert and Sons Mandurah of $1150. So far our College has received $3650.

How did this happen? Gilbert’s have a program called the “Peel Schools Program” and every time you shop at Gilberts and scan your Gilberts card, 1% of what is spent at the store is donated back to the school you nominate.

Would you like to help our College Fundraise?

Please consider getting a Gilberts card to use when you shop at Gilberts! Here is how:

Prayer – Would you like to join our Team who prays at school?

We need you! This year we have farewelled several long-term members of our Prayer Team and would love to have more people who are keen to be involved with this Foundation Friends Team.

PRAYER WALK AROUND THE COLLEGE…

Join us for our first meeting  on Monday 22 January to do a prayer walk around the College and meet for coffee afterwards.

Children are most welcome to come to this. Please bring a hat and a bottle of water!

Save this date!

During the school Term…

In 2024 we will be meeting on Mondays after school drop off. Venue is still to be determined.

Our first prayer time will be on Monday 5 February.