1st place Oxley - 419 points
2nd place Flynn's - 387 points
3rd place Shelley - 266 points
4th place Lighthouse - 240 points
Dear families
Welcome back to school for Term 3. During the school holidays our staff group undertook some preparation for this term’s learning. This included two days of formal professional learning focused on the implementation of our teaching and learning approach: the Student Formation Framework. One of the goals of this framework is to build the skills and character of our students so that they are highly capable as students and become great adults. We call the acquisition of these capabilities ‘Deep Learning’ and our approach to this ‘Designing for Deep Learning’. Our teaching and ancillary staff have been growing in their understanding about how to best effect this in their classrooms.
This Professional learning has been ongoing over the year: in our staff meetings and with professional input from the Association of Independent Schools (NSW). It is very exciting seeing our staff model an approach to learning that we want to see grow in our students. The best teachers are those who love to learn; our teachers really love to learn!
What does this mean for our students? Well, as they start to engage in developing competencies in critical thinking, communication, collaboration, creativity, character, and citizenship we would expect them to improve in their engagement in learning, to improve in their understanding and thinking and expression of ideas and to improve in how they understand the problems of the world and different ways to solve these issues. In short, they will become excellent as adults.
We are similarly focused on ensuring that they are well-prepared for the public examinations that are part of the New South Wales educational landscape. I am pleased with the direction that our teaching staff and students are facing regarding their education at the school.
Of course, at our school, we hold all of the above in its rightful place under the sovereignty of God. Our students are being taught to be highly capable students of Christian character ready to serve and enrich the community. Our teachers see the interconnected and holistic nature of student formation to include Christian faith and academic progress intertwined, after all our motto is ‘Faith and Knowledge’.
At home, my encouragement is to start asking your children about the competencies I’ve listed above (we call them ‘the 6Cs’). Ask about what they understand of them, it’s early days now, so please be understanding as they grow in their use of this language. And ask them about ‘One more thing’ they could do to improve in the Competency they are working on. Encourage them that learning with courage takes effort and that giving their best is all they have to do.
It is my expectation that the language surrounding Deep Learning will come to permeate our school learning culture and will help shape our shared desire that we provide excellent and authentic Christian education for our children and their families. Thank you for partnering with us in this.
I’m praying for a rich term of learning.
Matt Cohen
Principal
Congratulations to our dear staff member Leeton, and his wife Tamara on the safe arrival of their baby girl Eloise Dorothy. She is Just Lovely. We are thrilled to welcome this little bundle of joy into our school family, on behalf of the entire school community, we send you our warmest congratulations and heartfelt blessings on this joyous occasion.
13 year girl Madeline Letchford 14 year girl Rebekah Pym 15 year girl Sophie Mackereth 16 year girl Sarah McGregor 17 year girl Tianna Colwell 18 year girl Chelsey Day 18 year girl Tia Baldwin | 12 year boy Justin Colley 13 year boy Peter Somers 14 year boy Axel Frost 15 Year boy Braiden Apps 16 year boy Ethan Glover 17 year boy Brady watts |
9 year boy Reid Hurst 10 year boy Christian Brougham 10 year boy Leo Hanson-Crickmore 11 year boy Keith Long 12 year boy Jeremy Boyce 12 year boy Riley Reichelt | 9 year girl Willow Whittaker 10 year girl Indigo Frost 11 year girl Madilyn Tinley 12 year girl Charlie Walsh 12 year girl Alisha Pym |
We are excited this year to be hosting the 40 Year Celebrations of Heritage Christian School.
We look forward to celebrating this milestone as a community and praising God for His blessings over our School. This year's focus is to honour the past and shape the future as we strive to develop highly capable students of Christian character, ready to serve and enrich the community for the glory of God. It would be our desire that we, as a school community, would be a part of this special occasion together. We also will invite our founding members, previous Board members and Principals along with previous staff and our alumni students, and we encourage anyone in our community to extend this invitation to anyone connected with Heritage.
On Saturday 19 August, from 11am we will gather for a Thanksgiving Service in the Woolshed at the school. This will be a time when we will honour God and those who have faithfully served the school over the last 40 years.
Following this service, from 12:30-4:30pm, we will host a gala afternoon on our school oval, together we will enjoy live music, fun activities for all ages, and a school tour. There will be food and refreshments available for purchase.
If you would like to attend this event, please RSVP via the link below.
Please see invitation and follow us on Facebook for any updates on this event.