On Friday 28 November we will be holding a Thanksgiving Day. During the day, we will have two Thanksgiving Services. The Primary Thanksgiving Service will be held in the morning, the Secondary Thanksgiving Service in the afternoon.

Both services will be completely contained within the normal start and finish times of the typical school day, but 28 November promises to not be anything like a typical school day. A modified program is being planned for both Primary and Secondary, and these details will be released closer to the day.

So, at this stage, we ask you to “Save the Date”.

Some details we can already confirm:

Our Thanksgiving Services will be, as already mentioned, daytime events.
The services will be held in the upstairs double court space in the Community Hub.
These will be services of thankfulness, for the year that 2025 has been, for the school and its history that we have celebrated in our Jubilee Year, as well as a looking forward to what lies ahead, mindful of God’s grace as it is extended to us.
Each service will include a significant music performance, performed by multiple ensembles, a performance of our specially commissioned composition, in its entirety, written by Donvale former student, Jared Haschek.
- We have heard components of it at Founders Day and at our Celebration of Sound concert. More elements will be performed next term; our Thanksgiving Service will include a full performance of all elements, woven together to tell the story of the College’s journey of faith under God for all of its existence.
- This performance will include video and still photo image as part of the overall experience. (If you experienced the first component by being present at Founders Day, you know that it is enthralling and even spine-tingling in its beauty).
There will be reflections and comments from the Board Chair, me, and the Head of Primary/Secondary (depending on which service), as well as student reflections.
There will be prayer led by several members of our College community.
And there will be worship and celebration sprinkled throughout.

Between our two services, we intend to celebrate our community’s richness by having an extended picnic/lunch period – where families are invited to gather at various points around the campus to enjoy one another’s company and their children’s achievements. There will be a small program of optional experiences and food provisioning that will be provided during the period between the two services.

Planning for the detailed elements of our Thanksgiving Day are well advanced.

As we draw closer to the actual date, we will release detailed timings, movement and parking plans and specifics about the timetable of activities for both Primary and Secondary students.

Friday 28 November 2025 promises to be a very exciting day, celebrating God’s grace as a whole school community together.

A Thanksgiving Day, Donvale style – where our students shine, our families share the experience with one another and God is placed in the centre of our reflections, our worship and our dreaming for the future.

SAVE THE DATE!

Principally Thinking

'Act justly, love kindness, and walk humbly with God'

Issue 9 · 27 Jun 2025

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