Dear Parents/Carers

Welcome to Week 7! This term with staff we’ve been working through Colossians, and we considered Paul’s encouragement to the church not to be led astray by “hollow and deceptive philosophy”, “human tradition”, or “spiritual forces”. Paul challenges the Colossians that we don’t need to be afraid of spiritual powers, we don’t need to arduously earn God’s approval by doing ‘good’ work or following rules (indeed we can’t).

The gospel's message is a great relief; Jesus “is the head over every power and authority”, and He has already bought our freedom through His death. Paul reminds us that Jesus Christ is the image of the invisible God and the creator of all things. He has reconciled us to God through His death and resurrection, offering forgiveness and new life. By placing our faith in Christ, we are freed from sin and made complete in Him. This new life in Christ empowers us to live in His love and truth, rooted and built up in faith.

Colossians 1-2 highlights the core of the gospel: Christ's pre-eminence, His redemptive work, and the transformative power of faith in Him. We encourage all families to consider, what does Christ mean to you?

Open Night

It was an amazing afternoon on Monday for the College Open Night. A big thank you to our staff, students and parent helpers who gave up the afternoon to ensure the event was a success. Despite the rain, we had large groups of parents and children visit the College and explore the programs and activities on offer here. As with all College events, I’d love to hear your feedback if you attended or if you brought a friend to attend. What worked well, and were there areas for improvement?

NAPLAN

NAPLAN started yesterday! Years 3, 5, 7 and 9 start with their writing tests, followed by reading, conventions of language and finally, Numeracy. NAPLAN is very helpful in tracking and monitoring students’ learning across these essential areas and provides valuable insights for teachers, parents, and schools to support student learning and improve educational outcomes.

We encourage you to support your child by ensuring they are well-rested and relaxed during the testing period. Remember, NAPLAN is just one of many tools used to assess your child's progress and should be viewed as part of a broader picture of their educational journey.

Compass Update and Billing

The Compass app is now ready for parents and carers to access! You should receive a letter home this week with your child with instructions to access the app.

In the app, you will be able to:

View your child(ren)’s attendance records
Enter absentee reasons
View student reports (when released)
View the College calendar
View student timetables, including events
Update your contact details
Access school documents
View your school fees

College Fees

Current College accounts for 2025 have also been released to families through the Compass app, which means you will be able to view total amounts owed for 2025 and records of payments. You should also receive a letter from the College with instructions for setting up payments if you have not done so yet.

The Importance of Eating Family Meals Together

In our fast-paced world, finding time to sit down and share a meal as a family can be challenging. However, the benefits are so significant that some have claimed that regular family meals together have a greater positive impact on children than all other extra-curricular activities!

Family meals provide an invaluable opportunity for parents and children to connect and communicate. Studies highlight that children who eat regularly with their families are more likely to perform better academically, develop healthier eating habits, have better mental health, and have fewer behavioural problems. Family meals offer a chance to model and reinforce good manners and respectful conversation, such as active listening and not talking over others. They also create a sense of routine and stability, which is crucial for children's emotional wellbeing. Family meals and routines also give opportunities for children to take on service roles in the family, helping to set the table, clean up, prepare food, etc. It makes them feel like they belong.

If you’re anything like my family though, we can often feel like the dinner table conversation gets stagnant. I’ll ask my boys, ‘How was school today?’ and get empty answers like ‘It was ok’ or even the dreaded groan. These are my tips for what I find helps build and extend family conversation at the dinner table:

Take turns before the meal to share what you are thankful for today (no opting out, lead by example!) then pray before the meal and give thanks for the good things in the day.
Share stories from your own day and encourage your children to share their highlights as well
Rotate topics for discussion – take turns and let each person at the table pick a topic they’re interested in to discuss
Discuss current events in the world and help children understand how the broader world works and how it is changing, allow for questions and share how you as a family are responding, pray for those areas in need
Ask about school and the daily lives of your children and show an interest in what they’re doing, who they’re having fun with, how their friendships are going, what was hard today, what was exciting today, what are they looking forward to tomorrow, or even what are they worried about next.
Have some basic rules about no devices at the table and that being part of the family means no opting out of conversation
When all else fails, find some conversation games like 20 questions, would you rather, or dad jokes

I encourage all families to make time for shared meals, even if it's just a few times a week. The memories and connections built around the dinner table are priceless and will benefit your children for years to come.

The End of Men?

Simon Smart from the Centre of Public Christianity is in Wagga Wagga this week and hosting a free event on Thursday 13 March, 7:30 pm at the Riverina Playhouse Theatre. Simon Smart, Executive Director of the Centre for Public Christianity (CPX), will speak from his recent book, The End of Men? Simon will reconsider the modern male dilemma. Drawing on his own experiences of schooling and fatherhood, the best contemporary research, interviews with those on the front lines of a growing crisis, as well as ancient wisdom, he asks the question: how can we help boys become their best selves and a gift to those around them?

Free tickets can be secured at https://events.humanitix.com/the-end-of-men-with-simon-smart

Simon’s book will be for sale on the night, along with refreshments.

Book Blurb:

The End of Men? is about the plight of boys and men today in an increasingly complex and confusing environment for them. The book asks, ‘What does it mean to be a good man today? The book addresses the fact that boys are struggling and falling behind girls in education, health outcomes, mental health, and employment prospects. Meanwhile, the messages boys are receiving about what it is to be a male are often bewildering and negative. For our communities to flourish, we need both boys and girls to thrive. Some are responding to the contemporary challenge for males in insidious and dangerous ways.

The End of Men? makes a case for boys needing examples they can follow and lives they can mirror. It offers a vision that is attractive, compelling and achievable. Drawing on the parable of the Good Samaritan, a case is made to model and cultivate environments where boys will come to understand the beauty and satisfaction that comes from a life lived in service of others.

Author Bio:

Simon is the Director of the Centre for Public Christianity (CPX). He was co-presenter and co-writer of the historical documentary For the Love of God: How the church is better and worse than you ever imagined and is the host of the Life & Faith podcast. Simon’s writing has appeared in such places as the ABC, The Age, The Australian, The Guardian and The Sydney Morning Herald, and he has been a guest on radio and television across Australia.

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