Dempsey's Digest

I trust that you all enjoyed the long weekend and the chance for some time out and refreshment. I had the privilege of visiting Rivergum Christian College in Berri, South Australia and joining them in their 40th anniversary celebrations. This very small school is kicking great goals of being a distinctively Christian community in the Riverland of South Australia. What a joy to be able to celebrate humble beginnings, not dissimilar to ours, and their passion for Christian Education. I love that we get to be connected to something beyond ourselves here at MECS. As part of our connection to Christian Education National, we get to be part of a much bigger story of Christian Education in Australia.

You might not be aware, but our much loved previous Principal, Narelle Sketcher, works for Christian Education National as the State Executive Officer for Victorian schools. It was my privilege to join in this celebration at Rivergum with Narelle and others.

Meanwhile, let’s turn our attention to the things that have been happening here at MECS over the past couple of weeks…

Infrastructure Committee Meeting

We have a great bunch of committed people in our community who give their skills warmly to our Infrastructure Committee as a subcommittee of the board. The members include: Paul Bouma, Steve Taylor, Brad Smit and Luke Riches. Rob Lichtendonk, Daniel Chatelier and I are also members of this group and we enjoy assisting them in reviewing many of the infrastructure projects across the school, including the plans as we step that little bit closer towards our building project. More details will follow on this topic in the coming months.

Kinder Simultaneous Reading Time

I think one of my favourite things at school is being able to pop into the Kinder! I was excited to do this recently as a part of the National Simultaneous Storytime where right across the country, children in kindergartens were read the same book, at the same time. I was delighted to read Luna Roo, The Kangaroo Baller – a great little story about a feisty soccer player who defeats the odds. The children seemed to enjoy it as well!

Enrolments

One of the fun things I get to do at school is conduct interviews with prospective families. Sometimes one of the parents or even at times, both, happen to be past students of MECS and even students I have taught in the past. These parents return, because their own experience of MECS has been positive. It’s wonderful to hear their stories and appreciation of MECS and their desire to have their kids enjoy the same experience they had. Now is the time that we are finalizing enrolments for 2027 and our 2028 places are also filling up quickly. Please let your friends or family know!

Visit from Independent Schools Victoria

It was lovely to once again welcome members of the team from Independent Schools Victoria (ISV) to MECS to engage in some great conversations around the services they provide and the best ways they can support MECS into the future.

Board Retreat

It was great for our Board to meet together in ‘retreat style’ for discussions around things that we needed some more time than what a standard board meeting might provide. It was lovely to have dinner together on the Friday night and discuss some new strategies as well as spending the Saturday in further discussions at the Ranges TEC farm. We are served by a great board who generously give of their time and skills.

VCE Music Evening

If you love listening to groovy tunes in a warm and cosy environment, then you may well have missed out on a great event in our Theatrette last week. Our Year 11 Music students led us in some great music, smooth instruments and warm introductions as part of their assessment. What a great night to appreciate the abundance of talent we have in this group! Well done students, and thanks to Mr Forrest for teaching them!

Year 12s give Bibles to their Prep Buddies!

Our Prep students were excited last week to receive a very special gift from their Year 12 buddies, a copy of the Jesus Storybook Bible. Our Preps were excited and our Year 12s were warmly encouraging to them. The Jesus Storybook bible is a great kid friendly version of the bible which beautifully captures the whole story of the bible, where “every story whispers HIS name”!

Visit from Plenty Valley Christian College

It was great to welcome the leadership team from Plenty Valley Christian College to MECS last week. They visited Ranges TEC for a tour first then came to MECS to participate in a tour and to seek insight into our culture, our practices and our Teaching and Learning Framework. What a privilege to share with another CEN school!

Welcome to Natasha Colette

It was great to welcome Natasha Colette to our Finance team last week. Natasha is Mum to Noah in JP and brings the right mix of skills we need to contribute to our team. Welcome Natasha!

Daniel Bradbury and Edu Deo Ministries

It was great to welcome back Daniel Bradbury last week following his trip to Indonesia under the dual umbrellas of Christian Education National and Edu Deo ministries. Edu Deo is an organization based in Canada that supports Christian schools in developing countries. Daniel is working closely with them, bringing much needed teacher professional development. Thanks for your big heart for this ministry, Daniel!

Chin Parent Evening

We had a great night with our Chin families last week, as we shared a meal and shared some school news and information through a translator. It was also great to hear from Natalie Powell, our primary counsellor who was able to share some good tips for screen boundaries in the home.

Well, that’s a wrap for this Dempsey’s Digest, stay warm on these very cold days!

Cheers, 

Michelle