Learning Together Event
On Wednesday, our school had the privilege of hosting speakers Melinda Tankard Reist and Dr Marshall Ballantine-Jones, who spent the day engaging our Year 10 and 11 students, staff, and parents on the critical issues of porn culture, consent, and respect. Their sessions offered a powerful opportunity to confront the challenges young people face today from media, social platforms, and pop culture, which often promote harmful messages.
In separate workshops, Melinda worked with the girls and Marshall with the boys, guiding them through activities that encouraged honest discussions about pressures and expectations. They came together in mixed groups to identify healthy ("green flag") and unhealthy ("red flag") aspects of relationships, followed by candid exchanges on body image, self-worth, and the desire for respectful relationships. These sessions were deeply moving, fostering empathy and mutual respect. For us as a Christian school, the conversations reinforced biblical principles of love, honour, and treating each other as image-bearers of God, encouraging students to seek relationships grounded in Christ’s love.
For the staff, Melinda and Marshall explored the role of harmful media on young people’s well-being, offering strategies to help students build resilience and uphold positive values. The evening session for parents provided practical advice on helping children resist toxic cultural pressures, navigate boundaries, and seek respectful relationships. It reminded us of our calling to guide young people in living out God's design for healthy relationships and self-worth.
We are grateful to Melinda and Marshall for their inspiring work, and we wholeheartedly recommend their presentations. Their time with us has left a lasting impact, equipping our community to face cultural challenges with knowledge, empathy, and confidence. As a school, we remain committed to teaching our students to view themselves and others through God's lens of love and dignity.
Forever Projects - Mt. Kilimanjaro Challenge
As of this morning, our school has so far raised $934 for Forever Projects as part of our school Mt. Kilimanjaro Challenge! Please check out our school page and support those brave participants who are completing various challenges of their own as we seek to add to that tally.
Forever Projects, is an organisation dedicated to empowering vulnerable families in Tanzania and is transforming lives by providing resources, education, and sustainable solutions for families in need.
Nathan Barry Prize for Evangelism & Greg Smith Award
In a couple of weeks on Monday 25 November, we are blessed to be able to award two Year 10 students with the Nathan Barry Prize for Evangelism. Nathan was a much-loved student of our school community who passed away a number of years ago prior to starting Year 11. Nathan loved Jesus and is now with him in Heaven. He was a wonderful witness to others and I am so thankful to have known him. I encourage you all to watch Nathan’s testimony which is available here. In Nathan’s words, ‘no matter what happens in life, the only thing that really matters is trusting in Jesus.’
During this same assembly, we will also be presenting one Year 9 student with the Greg Smith Award. Prior to his passing, Greg was our Head of Secondary and was a wonderful, caring and Godly leader. This award is now presented to a Year 9 student each year who has an inquisitive mind, shows a courageous spirit in the face of adversity and demonstrates a strong Christian character with a concern for others.
We are very thankful for both Nathan and Greg and the role models they were to others in our school community.
HSC Examinations Finished!
Well done to our Year 12 2024 cohort on finishing their HSC Examinations! The final examination finished just a couple of hours ago, that being Geography. We look forward to celebrating the end of their examinations and their schooling next Tuesday 12 November at the Year 12 Formal.
Asia Trip & Roots Cambodia
In just a few short weeks, Mrs Holdsworth, Miss Yock, Mr Moran and I will be heading over to Cambodia and Vietnam with 25 Year 10 students. The students are super excited for what is sure to be an eye-opening experience and a trip to remember for many years to come.
While we are over there, we will be visiting Roots in Kep, Cambodia which is run by Steve and Mandi Cook. You can find out a little more about Roots here. We will be spending two days painting and working at the local school as we seek to serve the local community with Christ-like love.
We would appreciate your prayers as we head off on Saturday 30 November for 12 days. We look forward to reporting back to our school community upon our return.
Mr Peter Richardson
Head of Secondary School
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