New Seasons

How exciting the last few days at school have been! Staff and students were eager and enthusiastic to enjoy their first music lessons in the new Music Studio. The smiles on everyone’s faces, especially Mr Richardson’s, say it all. Our new multipurpose hall has been and will be a true change maker in how we do things at school. With the gift of a new building comes responsibility. One of the values at Channel is that we ‘Practise Faithful Stewardship’, which leaves the question: How do we do use this new space as faithful stewards of God’s blessings?

I have had many staff and parents already ask to use the space for things like drama, Channel Rhythm Jumpers, netball coaching, cooking classes, Little Learners, meeting spaces for Christian Schools Tasmania and Independent Schools Tasmania (IST) professional learning and many more. We love to see the space filled with active learning opportunities every day of the week. More importantly, we want to use the new building as a space to invest in the spiritual growth of our children, creating a place for them to work, play, and grow in, ultimately for the purpose of leading them to Christ. Let’s continue to pray for wisdom as we seek to be thankful for the blessings we have received, worshipping the giver not the gift. The Bible says:

Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
—Matthew 6:19-20 NIV.  

As we continue to look forward to a new playground, planned to be installed during the Easter holidays (as well as the two new classrooms ready possibly by Term 3) my prayer is that we see our earthly possessions not as our ultimate treasure, but as ways to help us store up treasures in heaven. 

Margaret Louw — Principal

Next week our Principal, together with the CST executive team will be attending the Christian Education National (CEN) Executives conference in Sydney. The name of the conference is STORY.

Some of the topics to be discussed will include:

1. God’s vision for Sexuality: His story, your story, our story

2. A story of leadership

3. Telling the story to the media

4. Posturing or positioning: Which story are you in?

Please pray for clarity and wisdom as we navigate these topics.

Swimming Lessons (Prep – Year 6)

Swimming lessons start for Prep - Year 1/2 on Thursday 23 March and continue until Wednesday 29 March. The Year 3 - 6 students start on Thursday 30 March and go through until Wednesday 5 April. Lessons will be held at the Kingston Pool between 11.30am - 1.10pm. Students will travel to and from the pool on our school bus.

Students must bring:

• bathers (speedos/trunks for boys and one piece for girls)

• a towel

• a swimming cap and/or goggles (optional)

• a good size bag to place their wet items in

Students can bring thongs/crocs/uggies to wear on the way to the pool to minimise items to lose and to save time putting on socks and shoes with wet feet. Note: school shoes must be worn for the rest of the day.

Students can also wear their swimmers underneath their school uniform (if practical); however, please remember to pack underwear. Please ensure that all items of clothing are labelled clearly and that students bring a clearly labelled bag to store their clothes while they are swimming.

The Prep, Prep/1 and Year 1/2 classes will be getting changed at school. Please bring a dressing gown or big warm coat for the children to wear over their bathers whilst travelling on the bus to and from the pool.

Parents are welcome to attend and watch their child whilst they are in the pool. We have adequate staff/supervision to assist the children in the change rooms.

The schedule for swimming is as follows:

Thursday 23 March till Wednesday 29 March (P - Year 1/2)
Prep: 11.30 - 12.00
Prep/1: 12.05 - 12.35
Year 1/2: 12.40 – 1.10

Thursday 30 March till Wednesday 5 April (Year 3 - Year 6)
Year 3: 11.30 - 12.00
Year 4/5: 12.05 - 12.35
Year 5/6: 12.40 - 1.10

Please contact the office if you have any questions.

WE ARE IN! The hall is finished!

As you can see from the many smiling faces, we are delighted to be using our new spaces. The build has gone very smoothly, and we are grateful for the work of our architects JAWSArchitects and our builders MAVERIC BUILDERS PTY LTD.

Some final touches to the Audio and Visual equipment are still being completed. We still plan to have a big official opening but you can come and have a sneak peak at our New Hall Open Afternoon THIS THURSDAY 23 March between 2.30pm - 3.30pm.

Welcome to the 2023 soccer season!

The first games are set to kick off on Saturday 29 April, and we are excited to again have a large number of students participating this year. For those who have not yet returned the expression of interest forms to the school, we ask that you do so as soon as possible so that we can finalise the teams. 

All general soccer communication will occur via our Facebook group Channel Soccer. Please join that group to stay in the loop. Coaches may also communicate with their teams by other means throughout the season. 

Please register your child. It's important to complete this before the first game. Also, note that a soccer top will be provided by the school and must be returned at the end of the season. Children are expected to have their own boots and shin guards. Socks can be purchased at the school office. 

Any questions can be directed to this years soccer coordinator Gus Basson.

Applications are welcome for the following positions:

• English Teacher at Emmanuel Christian School (from Term 2)

• Primary Teacher at Calvin Christian School (Term 2 only)

To APPLY or learn more please visit the Christian Schools Tasmania website.