It was marvellous to be able to join our Year 7 students on their Melbourne City Camp last Thursday. While the forecast for the three camp days did look somewhat bleak, it was a beautiful Autumnal day. This was helpful for after a planned activity, students formed small groups and worked with an assigned teacher to travel (usually a walk) to their next learning activity. One such walk was from Southbank to the Shrine via the Royal Botanic Gardens. As a College leader, I was greatly encouraged by the students respect for the Shrine and our tour guide as we learnt about the many sacrifices of those who have served in the Armed Forces in war.
One of the missing elements of school life over much of the past two years has been the presence of parents at many of our school activities. On Friday, alongside of Mother’s Day celebrations, our Prep classes had a Happy Hat Day. Part of their Happy Hat Day was a special parade and it was great to see families present in our auditorium as their children showed off their very colourful and creative hats. It is my hope that as we move further into 2022, we will have many opportunities to welcome families on to campus to participate in community life.
In the coming weeks students will be participating in our College-wide 40th Colour Splatacular Fun Run. As well as a fun way to celebrate our 40th birthday, students will be running to raise funds for Ukranian Christian schools and students impacted by recent events in their country. Further information will be provided shortly, but please take the time to sign your children up and help them raise funds for this important cause. You can do this at myprofilepage.com.au
As I wrote in the last newsletter, among the very fundamental teachings of the Christian faith is the importance of loving God and loving your neighbour. When we engage in community, we find that people are variously gifted. At school, for example, it can be that some are gifted in writing, whilst others may have excellent numerical skills. On Monday, students in Years 3 to 9 participated in an Athletics Day at Melton City Little Athletics Centre. Having previously worked in education for more than 20 years, I must admit to being delighted as to what I experienced on the day. Our students were enthusiastic, they cheered on others and took the opportunity to celebrate with others as they participated. It was simply a wonderful day. Oh, and it was great to see a number of parents and family members present to cheer on the children.
Shalom,
Chris Prior