College Connections

Principal's Press

Dear Parents/Carers

 

For the past week I’ve been in Sydney attending a series of CEN (Christian Education National) conferences. We have a great connection with Christian schools in Australia (and beyond) and these conferences were an excellent opportunity to connect together and learn from each other. The conference series also brought together a range of exceptional speakers to help us think deeply about the distinctiveness of being a Christian school. Here at the College, we are proud to teach students to understand the gospel of the Bible and how this shapes our perspectives on all things. We seek to be a Christian College where Christ is more than just a name on the building. If you have any questions about this, I’d love to discuss them with you

 

Easter

The College looks forward to celebrating the death and resurrection of Jesus at our coming Easter services. Parents are welcome to join us in the MPC as we encourage students with a short Easter message. 

  • Primary Parent Assembly: 4 April 12:30 pm
  • Secondary Easter Service: 4 April 8:50 am

Many churches will be celebrating Easter over the coming holidays, and we encourage families to connect to church this Easter and ask ‘why do they call Good Friday good?’

If you’re not part of a church, or if your child is not part of a youth group or kid’s club, you’ll find a host of great churches at the end of this newsletter – why not come and visit?

 

Carpark

Unfortunately, this term has seen several unsafe driving behaviours from parents in our main carpark. A parent has driven over the kerb to pick up a child at the Canteen (during the busy pick-up time), and a parent drove over the concrete parking barriers in their rush to park. A parent has also sped and cut in front of a student on a motorcycle – knocking them over, after seeing what happened, then drove off without checking on the student or providing assistance. Thankfully no injuries have resulted.

 

The College has children as young as three years old enrolled and often parents with younger children are onsite. Young children are not always predictable or easily visible. We also have many young and inexperienced student drivers at the College. We all have a responsibility to be extra careful when driving through the College carpark. Please look twice, drive slowly and put safety ahead of your own convenience.

 

The College will shortly be installing bollards around the grassed drop-off area to ensure we protect our students. We will also be installing security cameras over the carpark areas and at carpark gates to ensure all licence plates are recorded clearly. Footage will be reviewed if incidents are reported, and the College will respond to instances of unsafe driving very seriously.

 

Please be reminded that:

  • The speed limit in the College carpark is 10km/h.
  • Parents wishing to use the ‘kiss and drop’ should queue in the dedicated left lane as they enter the College carpark.
  • Students may only load into the cars in a ‘kiss and drop’ fashion at the dedicated locations near the grass.
  • Students may not load into cars from the kerb alongside the bus bay.

To help alleviate the congestion of the carpark in the afternoon, the College requests the following:

  • Families with only children in Primary School arrive from 2:55pm to start the pick-up process.
  • Families with children in both the Primary and Secondary School, or Secondary School only, arrive from 3:10 pm to start the pick-up process.
  • If waiting in one of the three pick-up spots for over 3 minutes, that parent needs to either a) park in the College carpark to locate their child, or b) drive a loop around the carpark and re-join the queue so as not to block the flow of traffic.

Supervision is available for children in the playground after school until 4pm, the congestion in the carpark lasts generally only between 2:50 and 3:10 pm. Waiting a few minutes to pick up older students will greatly improve the carpark experience for everyone.

 

The College will continue to review safety in the carpark area and will consider further changes as needed.

 

Strategic Plan Update & Master Plan Survey

The College seeks to hold parent partnership as a distinctive part of how we work. Towards this goal, we will be sending out a survey at the end of this term to ask for your feedback on some key points. This will be a helpful opportunity for you to express your views on how the College is going and what areas you’d like us to focus on next as part of our strategic plan. To prepare for this survey, you may like to explore our current strategic plan hereand consider the progress we’ve made and the progress that remains! 

 

This year the College will begin work to prepare a masterplan to guide the long-term development of the physical facilities on the College site. Your feedback on this survey will help inform decisions for the master plan as well as our strategic priorities.

 

Members of the College Company will also have additional opportunities to provide feedback and suggestions. If you’d like more information about the College Company and becoming a member please see our website here.

 

This survey is not the place for specific complaints, but you can always raise concerns or share feedback with the College through our usual pathways.

 

Staff updates

It is with great sadness that at the end of this term, we will farewell Mr Jeff Ward. Mr Ward has taken up a new role as an intern pastor at WWEC. We celebrate his work for Christ in our community, but he will be missed at the College.

 

Mrs Emily Cunningham, who has recently been on some leave, will start her maternity leave next term. The College is praying for Mr & Mrs Cunningham and the coming birth of their child. 

 

We are pleased to announce that Mrs Suzanne Rose has accepted a position at the College as a permanent English teacher and Acting Learning Leader of English for the remainder of 2025. She joins us from the start of Term 2 and will bring a wealth of experience to the College, including as a Head of English and HSC Marker.

 

We are grateful to Mr Richard Ball, who has been a casual staff member at the College for a few years and has now joined our teaching team for the rest of 2025.

 

We recently farewelled Mrs Elize Delport from our administration team as her family moved away from Wagga Wagga. We welcomed Mrs Kate Ball who has been appointed to join the administration team.

 

We have also recently appointed Miss Henrietta Pottie as a secondary SLSO, she joins the team having recently completed her undergraduate degree in Agriculture. Miss Pottie will be assisting the College’s Agricultural program.

 

We continue to thank God for His provision of great staff at the College and ask that He continues to call the right people to work here. The College is currently seeking applications for the following positions:

  • Preschool Director
  • Administration Officer

Please consider applying or sharing our website with anyone who may be interested.

 

Compass App

The Compass App was launched to families two weeks ago and we have seen a great deal of activity through the App. If you have not received access to the App yet or are having any problems accessing your information, please contact the College Office for support. The Compass app will be a key communication channel for families and more features will be launched over time.

 

Lost Property

As Term 1 draws to a close, now is a great time to double-check that your child has all their uniform items and hasn’t accidentally brought home someone else’s belongings. Please ensure your child’s name is on their clothing tags. Lost property is piling up on the racks behind B Block, so we encourage families to check for any missing items.

 

Riverina Mighty Men

The 2025 Riverina Mighty Men event is a free weekend away (4 – 6 April) for all local men and their sons (14+) to enjoy the country and get real with God. You’re invited to come camping, have heaps of food, and spend time with some mates (and maybe make some more), while talking honestly about the challenges men face and the encouragement of the forgiveness and hope that Jesus offers us. For more information and free tickets see https://www.inverellmightymen.com/.

 

Albury Christian Women’s Convention

The 2025 Albury Women’s Convention on Saturday 17 May will be an excellent opportunity to connect with other women and see the wonder of grace anew as we consider real love, costly love, relentless love – the love of our God. Jenny Salt will speak from the book of Hosea about God’s relentless love. For more information and tickets see https://acwc.org.au/.