From the Principal
Adjustments to the Herald Newsletter
Before I share with you a few standout experiences from attending the Converge conference recently, I wanted to flag a small change in the way we communicate to you.
As LCS continues to grow and develop, and with an eye to avoiding information overload in how we manage our communications, we're going make some alterations to the content and frequency of The Herald newsletter. The Herald is an important communication tool but we've decided to rethink, redesign and redevelop how we're communicating. So instead of a monthly publication, The Herald will be published once at the end of each Term.
It will continue to contain many similar messages as before as well as some new ideas. So, watch this space!
Converge Conference
On Monday I arrived back in Australia, jetlagged but happy, after attending the Converge 2025 conference in Orlando, Florida, for Christian education leaders across the world.
CEN Australia CEO Mark Steyn took four CEN principals and CEN national board chair Andrew Goelst, who used to be our Launceston Christian School board chair. There were over 750 delegates and 41 nationalities in attendance. To have represented LCS in this mix was so humbling. I'm incredibly thankful to the board for funding this opportunity.
The main takeaway for me was the sense of connectedness with a global exposure of Christian education. LCS was a part of something bigger than our school here on the West Tamar, and the unity was palpable. I saw with clarity how LCS is part of a bigger movement of Christian education across the world.
It would be impossible for me to effectively summarise all the invaluable insights I gained from this trip, so I'd like to highlight a few now and share more in future Heralds.
Faithfully Flourishing & Courageously Good
This was the theme of the Converge 2025 conference. What really resonated for me was the practical application of that; in leadership, in the classroom and in the community. I've brought home lots of ideas and lots of challenges to think about.
We were presented with the premise that flourishing is a decision and then asked: What can you do to ensure your school is flourishing?
When teachers flourish, students flourish.
This quote really stuck with me. It's probably a little different to the paradigm we have become familiar with, where the education environment is all about student wellbeing. The point is that if teachers are spiritually, emotionally and physically flourishing there is actually research to show that students also flourish.
Camaraderie of Leaders
Attending Converge with three other CEN principals provided the chance to meet two CEN principals who have been in CEN Schools for a very long time and another principal who was relatively new, like me. The conversations we had around meals, during break times, and travelling in vans visiting schools together, was the most amazing professional development. Mark did a really good job of bringing together new and old in the sharing of ideas.
We had breakfasts and dinners with keynote speakers from the conference, including Dr Lynn Swaner who co-authored Flourishing Together (A Christian Vision for Students, Educators, & Schools), and David Smith who wrote On Christian Teaching. In smaller, intimate settings I listened to their stories, sharing deeper than the conference presentations. I was particularly struck by their genuine interest in our school experience here in Tasmania.
School Innovations
I visited numerous schools in Florida to see how they're maintaining a commitment to their core Christian values and mission, and how they interpret that in their community.
At Westminster School in Miami, I witnessed something I've never seen before in my career. The school has developed an outdoor learning area that's like a mini zoo with turtles to pat, obstacle courses and cubby houses. Dysregulated students can come and be with the animals and experience God through creation. The outdoor learning area also cultivates creative thinking. For example, a primary school class + the space's seven cubby houses results in the students imaginatively playing in a fortress, a home or a Starbucks cafe!
The passion of the gentleman that ran that centre, for 25 years now, was inspiring. I suggested he come to ITEC.
Of course, I began thinking of the fact that Australia has such a diverse and beautiful environment, and what LCS could do with this idea!
How to Create 'AND' Cultures, Not 'OR' Cultures
How can we be safe AND risky? How can we be innovative AND traditional? Often in schools we make these things out to be one or the other and the point that came through a series of workshops at Converge was that there are actually very few purely 'or' scenarios. This is another learning that I'll be chewing over and considering its application to the LCS setting in coming months.
I returned home from Orlando feeling grateful. Grateful to have participated in a panel discussion with positive feedback on the story I shared of our experience travelling with a student through a hard time. Grateful for the opportunity to grow my understanding of our part in Christian education. And grateful for the joy of the LCS community; its people, environment, culture and for the leadership team here at LCS who kept the school running smoothly in my absence.
Stuart Kent
Principal
Launceston Christian School