Principal's Press

From the Principal

The school year has started, and it has been exciting to watch over 600 students arrive and settle into routines, making new friends and most importantly engaging in their learning. Last week, during our staff development week, staff spent some time reflecting on Paul’s letter to the Philippians, including this passage:

And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ—to the glory and praise of God. Philippians 1: 9-11

This is our prayer for every family and student as we start the year. We look forward to partnering with you over the coming year.

Reading – a Challenge and a Blessing

Reading has been consistently shown to have incredibly positive impacts on the learning and development of children and adults. No other media engages our minds into the minds of other people to the same depth. Reading not only builds literacy, but allows for the exploration of another person’s experiences, ideas and knowledge through gripping stories and rich information. You might be surprised but research shows that reading reduces stress, improves sleep, improves social skills and reduces risks of brain diseases (like Alzheimer’s and dementia). People who read regularly not only are happier but also live around two years longer on average!

This year we are raising a challenge for all students to be reading daily as part of their homework routines. A small amount of reading every day is enough for significant benefits for students so we issue this challenge for their good! To help students, teachers and parents find not just good books, but great books, I have prepared a Principal’s Reading Challenge. These great books are also a challenge, they won’t always be the easiest read, and some will challenge student’s thinking and help them to grow in their understanding of the world, people, and God’s good design. Building good reading habits requires dedicated effort and help from parents. You can help your child by discussing books with them, by sharing in the daily challenge, by investing in great books in your own home, by taking time to visit libraries.

The College Library is working on sourcing and stocking the books from the Principal’s Reading Challenge list and students will over time be able to find all of these books in the College Library. Participation in the reading challenge is optional though highly encouraged. The book list provided for the Principal’s Challenge contains a small number of confronting books that are appropriate for mature readers only and our librarians will note these and only loan them to students with direct parental permission as they are best read alongside a trusted adult to discuss the issues. More information will be coming soon about this reading challenge.

Meet the Teacher – Thursday 3:30 – 4:30 pm

This week we have an informal afternoon as an opportunity for families to meet their teachers. Primary School teachers will be at their classrooms and Secondary School teachers will be in the Library. Preschool teachers will join us from 4:00pm once the Preschool closes. Please come along and ask your child to introduce you to their teacher(s) and also to their friends! Students can collect an ice-block in the Primary School quad after they’ve visited their teacher. I’ll also be there, and I look forward to meeting many families.

This is an important way to meet your teachers and one way that we hope we can help partner with you in caring for your child(ren).

New College Values

Over 2025 we revised our values into four new terms full of practical examples of healthy and helpful habits that contribute to forming excellent character. Our new values are outlined below and will help shape many of our student development programs, discipleship and mentoring of students.

Kindness – helping others

We love others by serving and helping them with compassion and generosity.
Ephesians 4:32 Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.

Integrity – doing the right thing

We take responsibility to do the right thing by always being honest, safe, self-controlled and trustworthy.
Titus 2:7 In everything set an example by doing what is good.

Respect – being polite and showing manners

We treat every person as we would want to be treated because everyone is made in God’s image and loved by Him.
Luke 6:31 Do to others as you would have them do to you.

Diligence – working hard

We work hard at all our tasks, as if working for God, not ourselves or others.
Colossians 3:23 Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters

We look forward to a year of partnership with you supporting the development of our students!

Dr Rahmi Jackson

Principal

New College Staff

This year, we welcome several new staff members, including:

Mrs Rebecca Foster, Defence School Mentor

Mr Dane Fuller, Year 4 Teacher

Mr Jack Hinds, Excursion Liaison

Mrs Suzanne Newton, Community Relations

Mrs Halley Smith, HSIE Teacher

Mr Adam Smith, Biblical Studies Teacher

Mr Russell Veerhuis, Business Manager

A profile of each staff member will feature in College Connections. Please make them welcome as they commence their new roles.

Adam Smith, Learning Leader of Biblical Studies,

I’m passionate about helping students engage deeply with the Bible — not just reading the text, but wrestling with the big questions it raises and discovering how it speaks into real life. My goal is to create a space where curiosity is encouraged, thoughtful discussion thrives, and students learn to think with both clarity and compassion. Before joining this community, I taught at Nepean Christian School and Broughton Anglican College, experiences that shaped my love for guiding young people as they explore faith, identity, and purpose. I studied at Sydney Missionary and Bible College, where I developed a strong foundation in theology and a deep appreciation for the richness of Scripture.

Outside the classroom, you’ll often find me cycling, tinkering with technology, or experimenting with practical ways to integrate new tools into learning. I love exploring how faith, creativity, and innovation can work together to help students grow.

Rebecca Foster, Defence School Mentor

I have been working as a school chaplain at a rural primary school for the past 4 years and I love my role supporting, mentoring and connecting with students, staff and families. I am very excited to have this opportunity to work with Defence families and look forward to embracing this role and asking the question 'how can I help?'. My daughter also started school here this year so we got to share our first day at WWCC.