Canteen
Learn More
Fostering Flexibility and Resilience
So that our students are happy at school, enjoy engaging in learning, and are comfortable and confident in social interactions, our staff foster opportunities to encourage healthy relationships, positive choices, wellbeing, and resilience. We believe wellbeing is multifaceted—mental, spiritual, physical, emotional and social.
Primary and Secondary Chaplains
Our Primary Secondary Chaplains work alongside teachers, other support staff and families. They enjoy taking time to sit with students, hear their stories and help them navigate the joys and challenges of school life, and to share about how much God loves them.
Early 2023 saw further support for our secondary students with the addition of our Secondary School Wellbeing Hub, built on the campus near the Science block. The Hub provides a home for our Chaplains and a welcome ‘resort-like’ addition for pastoral care and wellbeing.
Primary URStrong
Running across Kindergarten to Year 6, Westside’s URStrong offers a whole-school approach program. Our ‘friendship skills curriculum’ centres around empowering children through lessons and opportunities that help develop common language about friendships, feelings, handling conflict and ways to build stronger positive relationships.
Primary Team Coordinators
The responsibilities of our Primary Team Coordinators are vast, and include the following: curriculum development and implementation; team leadership and pastoral care of students and staff in their year level; behaviour management; mentoring; parent communication; special event organisation, including excursions and camps; overseeing team planning; supporting Primary Leadership team and more.
Secondary Wellbeing Opportunities
Our goal is for every student to feel a sense of satisfaction and belonging at Westside. Under the umbrella of mentoring, Westside Christian College has developed various programs that support student wellbeing and spiritual formation, as per below.
TAG
TAG —Together And Growing—is a vital part of Westside culture. Four mornings a week, students start the day in their 15-minute TAG groups. It’s a great opportunity for smaller groups of students from a mix of Years 7 – 12, to consistently build relationships with each other and their TAG teacher. They cover daily notices, catch up with each other, share a devotion and a prayer time. Regularly relating to others from different age
groups and backgrounds helps build personal confidence, strong relationships, and a sense of being ‘seen’, known and valued.
BOBS
BOBS—Building Outstanding Blokes—is Westside’s secondary school boys’ mentoring program. Led by a team of male teachers in Term 2 and Term 3, teachers and boys spend time together, reinforcing life skills of enjoyment, confidence in learning, commitment, adventure, creativity, healthy relationships, responsibility, and trust.
The boys give it their all, enjoying activities such as dodgeball, filmmaking, mentoring afternoons, surprise challenges, video games, Nerf Wars, excursions, and the much-anticipated overnight Bush Camp. As they grow in God and develop a positive sense of masculinity, the boys find a sense of ‘home’ and form lifelong friendships.
‘Honour all people, love the brotherhood, fear God, honour the king.’ 1 Peter 2:17
FIT Chicks: Fitness – Integrity – Tenacity
Birthed at Westside, our FIT Chicks program is led by a team of female staff in Terms 3. The program supports Year 9 -12 girls to become aware of their value, and how God made them. FIT Chick builds a sense of support, and encouragement across year levels.
Even sporting teams can’t give girls the physical, mental, and spiritual goals FIT Chicks offers. It is unique. As girls struggle to meet challenges together to achieve seemingly unachievable goals, they realise what they really can do. Words such as determination, fun, overcoming, resilience, confidence, and self-worth, reflect their successes.
Secondary Year Level Coordinators
The Secondary Year Level Coordinators are passionate about supporting students in their year level. The role includes pastoral care and support, advocating for students, and liaising with parents and teachers.
Other Secondary Support
The Boardroom
The Boardroom is an after-school program focused on skateboarding. Whilst students learn to skate, they build relationships with key staff who are passionate about opening up conversations to help support students. This program runs through Term 3.
Blessed to Bless
Blessed to Bless is our Pacific Islander group. Held at lunchtime, and open to anyone, students get together with a key Pacific Islander staff member and our chaplain, and consider what it means to act in a way that brings honour to both the culture that you come from and the one you live in.
Illuminate
Illuminate is a program for girls held in Term 4. It takes art and craft and helps girls see how they can express themselves in healthy ways. Key female staff members teach the girls a new skill each week, while they build relationships and get alongside the girls as they journey towards finding out who they are.