From the Principal

As we conclude Semester 1, may I extend my thanks to our staff, parents and volunteers for all their efforts in supporting our students to flourish. I pray the upcoming school holidays provide our school community with a valuable time of refreshment and preparation for the second half of the year. 

The final few weeks of Semester 1 have seen our staff support students in engaging in various high-quality co-curricular activities and assessments, including ensemble evenings, interschool sport, excursions, mid-year examinations, performances, presentations, and the General Achievement Test (GAT) for many of our VCE students. I also wish to commend our students for challenging themselves across the first semester. 

The Year 9 Election Program is a long-standing curriculum initiative at Oxley and has been a feature of the last week of Term 2. Aspects of the curriculum program are customised each year to reflect the strengths and interests of the cohort of students. This year, students participated in a debate, which was a new feature of the program. May I acknowledge and thank Mr Stephen White and all the staff involved in supporting the students with their participation in this rigorous Civics and Citizenship program. Congratulations to the Year 9 students on their commitment to embracing the opportunities to extend themselves throughout the week. I also wish to acknowledge and thank Mrs Nicole Werner MP, Member for Warrandyte, for visiting Oxley this week and sharing some insightful words of encouragement with the Year 9s. 

I was delighted to attend the first Year 9 debate on Monday, which involved students debating ‘That artificial intelligence will do more harm than good in the next ten years.’ The students did an outstanding job considering the potential positive and negative outcomes associated with the continued use of artificial intelligence (AI) during this period. Throughout the debate, students grappled with the impact that AI would have on education. At Oxley, our staff continue to carefully consider the effect of AI and how it can impact student learning. We also guide our staff on the appropriate use of AI to ensure our curriculum remains Christ-centred, rigorous, and targeted to meet the needs of our students. The College also continues to carefully consider the Australian Framework for Generative Artificial Intelligence (AI) in Schools, which guides the responsible and ethical use of generative AI tools.  

During the past month, we have farewelled Charmaine Peck after 17 years of incredible service at Oxley as our Director of ICT Services. Charmaine oversaw the significant expansion of the College’s ICT infrastructure during this time, supported staff and students in navigating challenges during the COVID-19 pandemic, and provided valuable support during the College’s recent building projects. We pray God will continue to bless Charmaine during this next season. 

We recently announced that Danielle Bruce will resign as College Psychologist at the end of Semester 1 to seek other opportunities to broaden her experience. The College is extremely grateful for Danielle’s contribution over 7 years in this role and wishes her well for the future. 

We have also recently farewelled Cathie McDowell, who resigned as our Office Manager. Cathie’s efforts in supporting students, staff, and parents to flourish at Oxley over the past 7 years have been greatly appreciated. We have recently welcomed Heidi Fung as our new Office Manager. 

During the semester, the College acknowledged Kalina McMaster, who resigned from her position. We are grateful for her service to Oxley and wish her every blessing during her next season in life. We also congratulated Elysia Nelson on her new role as Assistant Property Manager.  

I look forward to connecting with our staff during the upcoming Curriculum Week (21 – 25 July), which will provide our team of staff with an opportunity to continue considering how we can support the holistic formation of our students. A key element of the Curriculum Week will be sessions addressing how we can embed a Biblical Worldview Framework into our curriculum documentation. Our staff will be exploring a framework that allows us to intentionally plan our Christ-centred curriculum to support students to encounter Truth, Goodness, and Beauty.

We pray for a safe and refreshing break for our school community to support us in having a great start to Semester 2 on Monday 28 July 2025.

Working together, 

Michael Bond

Principal