From the Principal

Dear Friends,

Our final weeks of the College year hold many blessings for our community. Among others, I refer to major events like our Final Assemblies, the Year 6 Graduation Dinner and ceremony, the Prep Nativity concert and Senior School Presentation Evening. Although these events are remarkable for their quality alone, they are so much more special because of our community’s presence. There is a lovely ambience around these public events as families and friends remain on site for conversations and catch up, and to farewell the staff leaving Oxley. 

Indeed, in gratitude for their service to the College, we acknowledge with deep affection our colleagues who are leaving Oxley. They are Heidi Ruhnau, Sabrina Solomons, Robyn Liney, Aijun Zhong, Mark Goode, Ginger Coughlin, Libby Ledwidge, Ruth Hogg, Syndy Green and Karen Breen. Each person has made a special contribution to Oxley, and we prayerfully commend them to the new season of their life journey.

We are delighted to welcome the new student leadership teams for next year and to single out for special recognition our new College Captains in Mary Spratt and Max Broadley-Thomson, alongside Vice Captains Daniella Hupertz and Ruan Rademeyer. All our student leadership roles have been filled by students receiving the greatest support from staff and students, so we anticipate a high level of community support among the Oxley community. 

We also take delight in the completion of the College building and landscaping projects. Staff and students will appreciate these magnificent facilities in the years ahead. I thank Ps Graham Nelson as project manager for his efforts amid the post-pandemic difficulties in the building industry. It has been a remarkable few years in the completion of the College Master Plan.

There are many acknowledgements we could and should make among Oxley families and staff. Everyone has their own experience and offering to make towards the common good. The biblical perspective of a body with all its parts working in harmony comes to mind, and we are thankful for each area of our organisation that makes the success of the whole possible. We are thankful for the recognition each area rightfully receives from inside and outside the College. But at Christmas time we are also reminded of a much bigger picture involving the acts of grace and love by God that see us celebrating the birth of the Christ child. In this event, we are compellingly reminded of who has made the cosmos and therefore who owns it. We are brought to our senses about to whom our worship and gratitude is rightfully directed. 

The story of the Christ child is the account of God’s love for us. God doing for us what we could not do for ourselves in reconciling the creation to Himself, which is the whole reason we celebrate Christmas.

I encourage us to set apart time from the distractions of this season to spend time with God reflecting on all that is true, good and beautiful and to a place where we can ponder the words whispered to the world for some 2000 years, that:

God so loved the world that He gave His only son …

This act of love is one that offers healing, holiness, and peace to the world. May Christmas provide such a time for every family represented at Oxley, and in those places in the world experiencing the brutality and trauma of war. 

Warm regards,

Dr Douglas Peck