Ranges TEC 

Our Year 12 students have just returned from their Boots to the Bush, an immersive 10 day hands-on project in the Northern Territory. Ranges TEC partners with Batchelor Area School (97 km south of Darwin) to complete projects at the school and at their Outdoor Education Centre. 

Students completed a number of projects including:

• bench seats for yarn circles
• mini bench seats for the Kindergarten
• storage solutions for gas bottles and other equipment
• bike maintenance
• hopscotch designs
• soccer goals
• roof netting over a nursery area

• and some general maintenance 

   

In addition to the projects, students spent time with the locals in the Northern Territory, went swimming to combat the excessive heat and had a tourist day exploring Darwin.

Jenny Willetts

Admin & Promotions

Thankful for Our Time in Batchelor - Nicola Hewitt

For our time in Batchelor, in the red heart of the Northern Territory,

we give thanks.

We give thanks for mornings when the sun rose gently over the bush,

painting the sky in gold and fire,

and for evenings when sunsets lingered,

reminding us that “the heavens declare the glory of God;

the skies proclaim the work of his hands.” - Psalm 19:1

We give thanks for bats flying out at dusk,

like living shadows released into the darkness,

and for possums moving quietly through the night,

snakes reminding us to tread carefully,

and crocodiles resting in ancient waters - 

all part of a creation both beautiful and wild.

We give thanks for Litchfield National Park,

for waterfalls and beautiful swimming holes,

for cool water against warm skin,

for laughter, adventure and moments of wonder.

As Scripture says, “The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it.” - Psalm 24:1

We give thanks for community partnerships -

for doors opened, hands extended,

conversations shared across differences,

and the unexpected friendships formed along the way.

We remember “How good and pleasant it is 

when God’s people live together in unity!” - Psalm 133:1

We give thanks for students who arrived ready to learn

and left their mark through project work done with purpose.

For skills discovered, challenges overcome, 

ideas turned into something real,

and young people learning that their hands and hearts

can contribute to something bigger than themselves.

We give thanks for fig birds feeding high in the trees,

their calls drawing our eyes upward;

for black nights unpolluted by city lights,

when bright stars seemed close enough to touch.

In those moments we understood again:

“When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, 

the moon and the stars, which you have set in place,

What is mankind that you are mindful of them?” - Psalm 8:3-4

And we give thanks for the ordinary things that became precious - 

Bunnings hardware runs,

Zooper Doopers melting in the heat,

sweet watermelon shared beneath wide skies,

small moments that became part of our story.

Most of all, we give thanks for connection:

with each other, with community, with country,

and with the God who was present in every moment.

For the work completed, the stories shared,

the laughter and tiredness, the learning and growing,

the beauty and the challenges - 

We say thank you.

“Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good;

his love endures forever.” - Psalm 107:1

Batchelor will become a place we remember,

not simply for where we went,

but for what we received:

Friendship, wonder, purpose,

and the gift of having shared this time together.

And so we leave with grateful hearts,

carrying the red earth, the stars, the laughter

and the memories with us.

Thanks be to God.