I think that camp was the most awesome place! I loved the stand up paddle board, the giant swing and I thought it was soooooo fun at nighttime! The food there was amazing, so I ate all of it! – Hallie

Our Year 5 students travelled to Camp Elim, Forster, for a two-night camp filled with fun and adventure. Even though it rained on and off, it did not dampen the students’ spirits!

Students had a blast mastering their balance on stand-up paddleboards and the raft-building activity challenged everyone to collaborate and problem-solve. The highlight for most students was the giant swing, where students faced their fears! Many became enthusiastic archers as they aimed their arrows and avoided the bush turkeys.  

Throughout camp, students had the opportunity to deepen their understanding of God’s gift of His Son Jesus, and what this means for us all. They learnt about sin and how salvation is found in Jesus and that life with Jesus means loving God with our whole heart, mind and soul and loving our neighbours as ourselves.

This camp allows students to create new friendships and develop friendships they already have, which sets a wonderful class atmosphere for the rest of the year.

Primary

Mrs Mary-Ann Parer loves teaching music at MCCC. She has been teaching at our College for nine years, and currently teaches music across Kindergarten to Year 6.

This term Primary students engaged in a variety of activities across three stages. Infants learnt to identify different instruments and learnt to read simple notation to perform beats and rhythms as a class band. Years 3 and 4 focused on African drumming, vocals, and various percussion rhythms. Finally, Years 5 and 6 learnt how to perform Smoke on the Water on piano, guitar, ukulele, and xylophones, both individually and as an ensemble group.

On Tuesdays Mrs Parer leads a contemporary rock band for primary students. This gives students the opportunity to develop their skills further with their instrument and within an ensemble. They perform at the Eisteddfod, chapels and at various school events.  

She believes all students should engage with Creative Arts.

Research shows that students who learn an instrument, enhance their cognitive learning, as they engage both the right and left side of the brain.

At MCCC we also have a new Musical Theatre group for students in Years 3-6. This group runs on Thursdays, and students learn both singing and dancing from Mrs Allan and Mrs Donnelly.

Mrs Parer believes the Primary Music program is brilliant for a child’s social and emotional development. It allows them to connect with community,  develop teamwork and language skills and helps with overall expression and confidence. Encourage your child to connect with one of these groups.

Secondary

Miss Anna Davidson started teaching at MCCC at the start of last year, and now serves as the Secondary Head of Music. She has loved watching the Secondary students’ enthusiasm for Music grow in her time with the College.

Secondary Music currently has two elective classes in Stage 6, which is comprised of a large Year 11 class and a large Year 12 class. We also have compulsory Music in Years 7 and 8, and Elective Music in Years 9 and 10.

Secondary students have the opportunity to play and perform in a variety of contexts throughout the College Year. Interested students play in the College chapel band each week, and Elective Music students are able to form bands and ensembles to play at the Taree Eisteddfod, College Presentations and many events throughout the College year.

Our Music department has grown this year, with Mr Brent Weightman joining us, and is already a huge asset to the team. Mrs Alecia Hambly still continues to bring joy to the classroom by taking Year 8 music.

Miss Davidson believes that the MCCC Music program is vital for our students as it helps them to think creatively, work in a team, learn new and challenging skills and have fun making something beautiful with their friends.

Did you know your child has the opportunity to take private music lessons at MCCC?

Learn an Instrument at MCCC

We have qualified music tutors who hold lessons throughout the school day in our music studio. Parents organise the lessons directly with the music tutor, and your child has the opportunity to attend their weekly lesson through the school day. The lesson day and time can be varied each week, to ensure your child is not regularly missing a particular class.

We have private teachers in singing, piano and guitar. All our music teachers have current Working with Children checks.

We recently held a parent workshop about the benefits of home reading and how to encourage that at home. The workshop addressed the six components of reading (Oral Language, Phonemic Awareness, Phonics, Reading Fluency, Vocabulary, Comprehension) and how parents can practically help their child at home with these components. Parents were able to learn from Renae Watkins, an Educational Consultant from the AIS who is running our Primary Reading Project for our Primary Teachers. Renae was able to unpack current research and make it practical for families at home.

One parent said,

” As a parent I am passionate about my kids’ education, so I attended the reading workshop. The presentation was informative and covered topics such as current, research-based teaching methods, literacy programs used by the school, practical strategies for how we, as parents, can support our child’s learning at home.”

Parents can play a crucial role in fostering a love of reading at home and parents have three important roles to make this happen.

1. Reading to your child
2. Reading with your child
3. Listening to your child read

Reading aloud offers several benefits. It improves comprehension and retention by engaging both the mind and voice. For children, it enhances language development, vocabulary, and listening skills, while also fostering a deeper connection with the text. 

It is important to set good reading routines at a specific time each day for reading, whether it’s before bed or during quiet time. Consistency helps children develop a reading habit. Encourage discussions by asking questions about the story after reading it and select appropriate books that match your child’s interests and age. 

By fostering a positive reading environment, parents can help instill a lifelong love of reading in their children.

Two MCCC students are heading to Perth in April to participate in the Australian Junior Athletics Championships. Year 10 student Ivy Hoadley qualified for the Championships winning two NSW Championships for 15 yrs javelin. Ivy won gold in the recent NSW Junior Championships, backing up the gold she won representing the school at the NSW All Schools Championships in December.

Ivy, who is coached by MCCC support teacher Jenny Wyllie, represented MCCC at the Australian All Schools Championships in Brisbane at the end of 2024 where she finished 6th in Australia for the javelin!

Year 8 student Charlie Coombe is also heading to Perth, after success at both the NSW All Schools and NSW Junior Championships in the 14 yrs hammer throw. Charlie won silver at the recent NSW Junior Championships after his bronze medal representing MCCC at the NSW All Schools Championships.

A special mention also to Year 4 student Matilda Beck-White. Matilda won a silver medal in the 10yrs girls 1100m race walk at the recent NSW Little Athletics Championships. Matilda’s age group isn’t eligible to participate in the Australian Championships, but we look forward to hearing about her progress!

Mid Coast Christian College recently had the pleasure of hosting a group of students from Wakayama Chiben High School for a two-week exchange program from March 1st to March 16th. This enriching experience was made possible by the generous support of our host families, who welcomed 12 Japanese students and their teacher, Tiger Sensei, into their homes.

The exchange began with a mix of excitement and nervousness as our students met their Japanese counterparts. Over the two weeks, strong bonds of friendship were formed through shared learning and cultural exchange. The farewell was emotional, but we look forward to a reciprocal visit during the Spring holidays.

Our visitors had a packed schedule, both at school and with their host families. They participated in various lessons, including cooking, music, PE, literacy, and art, gaining a taste of Australian school life. The Japanese students also shared their culture by teaching Year 6 students Japanese greetings and origami. Tiger Sensei, along with Mr. Reed and Mr. Coleman, even visited Year 5 on camp to try the camp food.

Despite Cyclone Alfred’s disruption, the planned Indigenous experience at Salt Water was adapted to include a university visit and a session with Uncle Mick and Auntie Marg Saunders, where students learned about Biripi culture.

The exchange students engaged with all Year 8 Japanese classes, practising self-introductions and playing kanji number Bingo. They also introduced Aussie slang to the Elective 9/10 Japanese class and helped with a challenging exercise matching Japanese profiles to English ones.

The second week featured an All Japan Day, where the Japanese students gave presentations in English, taught the Soranbushi dance, and shared traditional Japanese activities like calligraphy, green tea ceremonies, karate, and trying on summer kimonos. They also enjoyed Yakisoba, a dish of fried noodles with pork and vegetables.

Host families and exchange students enjoyed various activities, including a trip to Port Macquarie with a Dolphin Cruise and a visit to Billabong Zoo, where they met koalas and fed kangaroos. A family bowling night and a farewell BBQ at the Boone’s farm, complete with cricket, marshmallow toasting, and kangaroo sausages, rounded off the exchange. Such opportunities for international cultural exchange foster understanding and appreciation of the diversity in God’s world. A heartfelt thank you to everyone who made this inaugural exchange a success.

A new elective was introduced this year for Year 9 and 10 students at MCCC. Under the supervision of Mrs Collum, Mr Weller and Mr Craig, Ignite is a project-based STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Maths) program based around CO2 powered cars. Students work in groups of three and form a racing team. There are six teams currently participating in the Ignite program in 2025.

One of the key aspects of ignite is the ability to work together and collaborate. Team members each carry out specific roles in their team – team manager/business manager, graphic designer/trade display manager, engineer/manufacturer – and must work together to meet the competition requirements. To participate in the end-of-year competition, teams are required to design, manufacture and test their cars as they race down a 20-metre track. They will also need to build a trade display promoting their team, design team uniforms, gain sponsorship from local businesses, adopt a project management approach, budget, create engineering and enterprise portfolios and much, much more! On the day of competition, a panel of judges will assess each element to discover which team will be crowned inaugural Ignite champions.

There are many benefits for students involved in Ignite. They develop real-world skills in areas such as CAD software, 3D printing, CNC machining, graphic design, business management and project management. The team must work together with everyone fulfilling their designated roles in order to achieve success, as well as make industry connections with local businesses.

Ignite is open to all students in Years 9 and 10 as an elective. Students will need to be able to work independently, be self-motivated and work as part of a team. It is beneficial if students organise their team of three prior to selecting Ignite as an elective.

If you would like to be involved with Ignite as a corporate sponsor or want to know more, please contact Mrs Collum (kcollum@mccc.nsw.edu.au).