Thrive Newsletter Term 1 Week 8
The true meaning behind Easter
Can you believe it’s almost Easter? It feels like just yesterday we were welcoming all our students back for their first day, and now we’re gearing up for one of the most powerful Christian events of the year. But amidst all the chocolate eggs and colourful decorations, I want to take a moment to chat about the real heart of Easter and why it matters to stop and remember our risen King Jesus.
Yep, you heard me right. Easter isn’t about bunnies or baskets – it’s about Jesus and the incredible story of love and redemption that he lived out for each and every one of us. Jesus left perfection, to come to earth and save all who call on His name.
You see, Easter isn’t just a one-day event; it’s a journey that starts way back in the pages of the Bible. From Genesis God promised a Saviour, and the King of Glory, came down and began with a humble birth, in a feeding trough, in Bethlehem. Our King entered the world as a tiny baby with a big mission – to save us! Throughout his life, Jesus touched countless lives with his teachings, his miracles, and most importantly, his unconditional love.
But Easter isn’t just about Jesus’ life, or even really about his death on Good Friday. On Good Friday, we remember the sacrifice that Jesus made for his people. He willingly laid down his life on the cross, taking the weight of our sins on his shoulders, (quite literally) so that we could be forgiven and set free. He did this because of God’s unimaginable love for us and His desire to save us.
But here’s the best part – the story doesn’t end there. Oh no, far from it. Three days later, on Easter Sunday, something miraculous happened. Jesus rose from the dead, triumphing over sin and death once and for all. Can you imagine the joy and excitement that must have filled the hearts of those who witnessed it? I often ponder and wish I could be there in that moment. Seeing Jesus face to face is something I so look forward to in Heaven.
And, our salvation and the promise of Heaven is confirmed by his power over death on the Resurrection Sunday. And let me tell you, that’s unimaginable and awe-inspiring to me.
I can’t help but want to celebrate and thank Him for this gift. It’s a story of hope, of redemption, and of unending love. And the best part? It’s not just a story – it’s the truth. It’s the foundation of our faith, our School and as Christians, the reason for our hope. This is why as Christians we gather together to celebrate each year.
So as we all prepare to celebrate Easter this year, let’s keep our focus where it belongs – on Jesus. Let’s take some time to reflect on his incredible love for us, and the sacrifice he made so that we could experience true freedom and joy. And hey, why not crack open your Bible and dive into some of the Easter story for yourself? Try reading one of the Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke or John) to really see who Jesus is! We would love to gift you a Bible if you don’t have one. See the Office if you would like to take us up on his offer.
Let me leave you with this well known verse from the Gospel of John, as we wish you a Happy Easter for next weekend.
John 3:16 – “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.
Faith Hull
Principal
Important School Updates
Pick Up & Drop Off
Parents and carers are requested to drop off and pick up students in the designated visitor car parking area while coming to the school. Buses are only allowed in the bus bay area. To enter and exit the school, please use the gated entry that leads to the car park. This is to ensure the safety of our students and visitors. When coming to the school parents/carers must drop off and pick up students in the visitor car parking provided. At all times buses are only permitted in the bus bay area. Please also use the gated entry to enter and exit the school to the car park. This is for the safety of our students and visitors.
Christian School Bus Travel
Bus Code of Conduct forms
If your child catches one of our CCS busses, you should have recently received a pink, yellow or purple Code of Conduct form. Please complete this form and hand it into the school office as soon as possible. If you have not received one don’t hesitate to get in touch with the office.
Can my child catch a CCS Bus for one-off travel?
Our Casino Christian School’s Lismore, Fairy Hill and Kyogle buses are currently operating at full capacity with our registered students who catch these buses each day. Therefore, unfortunately, we are unable to accommodate any extra one-off travellers on these buses as we may have done in the past.
To clarify, the Lismore, Fairy Hill, and Kyogle buses are only for those students who are already registered to catch these buses to their home addresses. There should not be any swapping of buses or one-off travel.
We appreciate your cooperation with this decision as we adhere to our Child Safety and Insurance obligations. If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to contact the school via phone or email.
Primary Uniform
Primary News
Our Primary Student Representative Council (SRC) was selected and awarded their badges at our assembly last week. Two students from each grade were selected by their peers to represent Primary School as their voice for ideas for growth and change in our school. The SRC will work closely with our Primary School Captains.
Pictured below, Our Primary Representatives are:
Year 1: Rosa Young and Abby Phillips
Year 2: Tessa Ranger and Saxxon Boland
Year 3: Nate Sonnex and Everley Larcombe
Year 4: Ezekyel Larcombe and Victoria Kemsley
Year 5: Dean Jarret and Zamira Wade
Our Year 6 Student Captains: Ollie Fisher, Frankie Benn-van Beers.
Vice Captains: Rory Galligan, Rory Galligan.
Primary Leaders (SRC): Esther Callaghan-Lake, Lietta McElligott-Nott.
Encouragement Award Recipients
At our last assembly awards were given to students from each year who have demonstrated one of our school values or have had some growth in an academic or personal area at school. Congratulations to all who received an award!
Secondary News
Our secondary assembly was filled with some exciting and encouraging stories. We had Mr J interview our Head of Maths Dr Gaut who shared her story about how she became a Christian and why she became so passionate about maths!
Mrs Kusabes who is our Aboriginal Liason along with Patsy Morgan one of our senior students educated us about Reconciliation and National Sorry Day and why it is so important. They also revealed the designs for our new sports team shirts, banners and table covers!
We also showed our School Values Competition entry videos which were extremely well done and very entertaining! We look forward to announcing the winners soon!
NSW School Vaccination Program
In 2024 the following vaccines will be offered:
If your child is in Year 7 or Year 10 this year, you can now provide online consent for their routine school vaccinations.
In Year 7, students are offered free vaccines for diphtheria-tetanus-pertussis (dTpa) and human papillomavirus (HPV). In Year 10, students are offered the meningococcal ACWY vaccine.
Vaccination will only be provided at school if consent has been received.
- To complete online consent for your child’s school vaccinations, visit: https://engage.heal nsw.gov.au/ engage
- Follow the steps to log in to your existing Service NSW account. This is the same account you may already use to renew your driver’s If you don’t have a ServiceNSW account, refer to ServiceNSW to create one.
- Update or confirm your personal details in ServiceNSW
- Complete the School Vaccination Consent Form for your child/ren. You will need to:
- Enter your child’s personal details
- Provide the Medicare card details for you and your child
- Read the linked Parent Information Sheet and privacy statement. Translations available in 27 languages
- Provide consent
If you or your child do not have a Medicare card, consent can still be provided by requesting a paper based consent form directly from your child’s school.
The benefits of providing consent online:
- easily update your child’s details
- receive SMS and/or email notifications when vaccinations are given
- faster upload of vaccination records to the Australian Immunisation Register (AIR).
For more information on routine school vaccinations, please visit www.health.nsw.gov.au/schoolvaccination.
If you require information in your language, please visit www.health.nsw.gov.au/imrnunisation/Pages/school vaccination language.aspx
Canteen
Sports News
Touch Football
Congratulations to all of our Touch Football Teams who played at Ballina on Tuesday the 15th of March. From the quality skills shown by our CCS Students five have now been selected to compete in Sydney at the State Touch Football Championships on Thursday 4th & Friday 5th April 2024. We wish Angus Gibson, Marcey Cole, Paige Fraser, Abby Bower and Patrick Murphy along with Mr Dave McPherson who is accompanying our students as Team Manager all the very best and we look forward to reporting on their results!
Open Boys Team Open Girls Team
U15 Boys Team U15 Girls Team
2024 Swimming Champions
Secondary Swimming Champions: Primary Swimming Champions:
Bill Turner Cup
Uniform Shop
Please find the updated uniform order form in the attachment below. The main changes are the price of school hats:
Primary Hats $15
Secondary Hats $12
Uniform shop hours are:
Mondays 8-11
Wednesdays 1-4
Uniform orders can be made at any time via the School Stream app or by filling out the uniform order form and returning it to school.
Upcoming School Events
Week 8 18th-22nd March
- Naplan 13th – 25th March
- Kindergarten Information Night – 20th March 6.30 pm
- Primary Assembly – Friday 22nd March 9 am
- Big Steps Little Feet Featuring Kindergarten – Saturday 23rd March – Lismore City News
Week 9 25th-29th March
- Year 7 Information Night – Tuesday 26th March
- Secondary State Swimming – Tuesday 26th March Sydney
- Pizza Fundraiser – Wednesday 27th March
- P & F Meeting – School Library – Wednesday 27th March 6pm
- Easter Assembly (Whole School) – Thursday 28th March 2pm
- Good Friday Public Holiday – Friday 29th March – (No School)
Week 10 1st-5th April
- Easter Monday Public Holiday (No School)
- Staff/Parents vs Senior Students Touch Football – Tuesday 2nd April 1 pm
- State Touch Football – Sydney 4th-5th April
- Primary Assembly – Friday 5th April 9am
Community Events
