Dear families
The end of the year is rapidly approaching. In the minds of retailers everywhere – Christmas has arrived! Concerningly, this means that the meaning of Christmas is liable to be lost in the materialism that pervades society. Even for Christians, we can find ourselves caught up in the excitement and busyness that has become par for the course at this time of year. It is a paradox that at a moment in the calendar when we should stop and consider that God sent his only Son to earth, the promised Messiah, that instead we would fill our time with busyness, shopping, and worry. This poses a challenge to us at school too, with end of year celebration evenings and reporting. Even so, these things are important because they are the way to reflect on and celebrate our student learning.
This term our focus has been to develop in our understanding of the most significant of our school values “Honour God”. Our staff have been explaining that honouring God means holding Him in his right place as the creator of the universe and responding with awe by treating everyone with the dignity afforded to God’s precious creations. We have been exploring that we can Honour God by working hard and using our talents to benefit others and bring glory to God.
One example, of many this term, has been our Intergenerational program run by Mrs. Baldwin. Thank you, Mrs. Baldwin for organising this wonderful program. It has been great to see the growth of our students who, over the past six weeks, have met with the seniors from local RSL villages. There have been a number of powerful moments in the relationship building for both groups; certainly, it is a been an outworking and embodying of our school values to “Serve in Community” and to “Honour God”. Through this program we have witnessed the maturing of our young people. It is wonderful to see them develop their communication skills and collaborative approaches to working with others from a different context and for the benefit of the broader community. Our students have risen to the challenge and really embraced this opportunity. Genuine relationships have been formed and we are absolutely encouraged by the authenticity of this pilot program and those who have participated.
There are many such experiences that our students have engaged in over this year. Whether it be the amazing camps, the Music-a-Viva concert, the co-curricular program, the Designing for Deep Learning experiences, the parent days, carnivals, excursions, Rock and Water program, and the wonderful classroom learning experiences that happen each period of each day. We have had a wonderfully full year of learning as we have celebrated our 40th year.
There is much to be thankful for. Paul, in his letter to the Ephesians, directs us to “sing and make music from your heart to the Lord, always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.” It is quite the contrast with the individualism of the Tik Tok world of our children; and one that we are seeking to highlight for our students in our school community. We want them to see that kindness and compassion are best for them and bring Glory to God.
Thank you for partnering with us in the education of your children. We count it a great privilege and a joy to share with you in the work to develop our young people into highly capable students of Christian character to serve and enrich the community to the Glory of God.
Praying that this Christmas we will all be able to stop for a moment and consider how great is our God.
Matt Cohen
Principal
