From the Principal's Desk

I love this quote from Corrie Ten Boom. I love it because of the great truth it contains but also because it comes from someone who had very good reason to worry. Imprisoned at the notorious Ravensbrück concentration camp during World War II she could have been crippled by fear. Instead, she faced the darkest of days with extraordinary strength, knowing that Jesus was her sure and certain hope. Our senior students read of her incredible story in the great book The Hiding Place.

Today, we don't have to look far to find things to worry about. Depending on who you listen to, our future hangs on finding a successful Covid vaccine, or the outcome of the US Presidential election, or a new climate policy, or on an ever-growing economy, or... But if we put our hope in these things we will inevitably be disappointed.

I'm not saying we shouldn't take an active interest in politics, science, or economics. On the contrary, Christians should be well engaged and influential in these spaces. Rather, before anything else, our hope must be in Jesus. He is our sure and certain hope. He alone is the Saviour of the world. Tump/Biden/Andrews/Scomo/<insert any politician's name here> is not the Messiah - only Jesus is. Only by putting our trust in Him can we live today with strength and hope for the future.

What's the state of things at school?

Obviously, Covid-19 has been the great disruptor. It's so good though to have students back at school. This has been a much-appreciated and important gain. Frustratingly though, the disruption continues as other restrictions still apply. Here's a list of some of the things we are still not permitted.

Assemblies - I really miss these. I miss being together to consider God's Word, to sing His praise together, and to pray together.
Incursions - sadly, we've had to cancel quite a few exciting things we had lined up for this year
Parents/Visitors in school - it would be so great to have parents and friends of the school back in the classrooms. We're a better place with you around.
Choir singing or Instrumental ensembles - sadly our end-of-year ceremonies will look very different this year. No musical. No choirs. :(

Camps have also now been ruled out for the remainder of 2020. Regional VIC schools are allowed to go on camps within regional Vic as long as they meet strict requirements. These requirements, along with very high demand from other schools, and a very short time-frame in which to organise it, have made it unworkable for us.

We are hopeful of being able to run a modified athletics carnival at school soon and possibly even a soccer carnival. There are a number of other activities we are pushing ahead with planning, even if they aren't permissible at this time, hopefully they will be in the weeks ahead.

Graduation ceremonies are now allowed, however, parents are not allowed to attend and there are strict restrictions around them. Some time ago, we made various bookings with local venues that would allow us to hold a number of small gatherings for our gradution classes (Preps, 6, 10). This would allow us (students, staff, and parents together) to recognise our students' important milestones. Under current restrictions, these plans would not be allowed to proceed. We will continue with these plans (as well as plans B & C) in the hope that restrictions will change in time for them to go ahead.

Another quote that grabbed my attention recently

“Many families hope to protect their children from radical ideas by walling off the secular world—supervising what books they read, what movies they see, what music they listen to. But secular worldviews do not come neatly labeled so we can easily recognize them. Instead they mutate into forms that we hardly recognize, becoming part of the very air we breathe. The most powerful worldviews are the ones we absorb without knowing it. They are the ideas nobody talks about—the assumptions we pick up almost by osmosis.”

– Nancy Pearcey, Love Thy Body

This quote grabbed my attention because it speaks to some of the arguments often spoken both for and against Christian Education. On the one hand, Christian schools (and parents) do want to protect their children from radical ideas by curating what they read, see, and hear. On the other hand, the quote recognises that it is an impossible and perhaps futile task to completely shield our children from secular worldviews. So what should we do about this?

As a Christian school, we do not want to be an enclave where our students just take shelter from the real world and its follies. Perhaps a very 2020 way of describing such a school would be an isolation 'bubble' or 'hub.' Yes, there is an element of protection or refuge in Christian schools but we must be more than that.

Our children (along with the rest of us) are impacted by powerful worldviews without even knowing it. Shielding students as best we can from worldviews that are contrary to God's Word, at least for a time, is appropriate and important in many cases, however, the best protection comes actively promoting, endorsing, living and speaking a counter-cultural worldview - a Biblical worldview. This is best achieved with a three-pronged approach: 1. Active Christian parenting, 2. Full engagement with the local church, and 3. Schooling that holds the promotion of such a worldview at its core.

MCC exists to support local parents and churches striving to promote a Biblical worldview. Our first priority is to acknowledge God and his Word as the source of truth and to prepare and equip our students to bear witness to that truth.

Armed with a Biblical worldview and the knowledge, skills, and understanding that comes from a high-quality education, our students will be equipped to fully engage with the world in whatever sphere God calls them - politics, science, economics, arts, trades...

Parents, thanks for allowing us to be a part of shaping your child's worldview. May God help us work together to achieve great outcomes for His glory.