Senior School

The last few weeks have been so exciting! It is such a pleasure to see the diverse range of activities that students participate in at Oxley, the joy on their faces in mastering new endeavours, particularly when stepping outside their comfort zone.

The Little Mermaid was a remarkable example of this. Seeing such high calibre acting and singing brought great joy to several hundred friends, family and staff, night after night. It was truly inspiring. These young people clearly rehearsed for many hours while still undertaking their usual school loads and other duties, managing sport, family, part time jobs etc. What goes unseen is the sheer hard work and tenacity required to produce such an event and the growth in each individual as they performed their role, overcoming individual challenges and fears. An enormous congratulations to everyone involved. Thank you for blessing us with your excellent presentation of this Disney classic. Go to The Little Mermaid page for a colourful spread of photos. 

We recently celebrated International Week. International Captains Anna Nguyen (12.8) and Link Fan (12.8) together with Language Captains Grace Richards (11.13) and Une Geisler (10.17) spearheaded the opening Assembly under the tutelage of Mrs Ong. A plethora of items helped us to consider our place on the global stage, including poetry recitals from Eliza McGregor (8.1) and Isaac Armstrong (8.1), a story about Jonah from Une and a lovely song brought to us by Anna and her friends, adorned in traditional Vietnamese costumes.

The International theme continued with Pastor Chacko talking to us about some of his understandings of skin colour growing up and how these changed as he grew in his knowledge of who he is in Christ. It was a little uncomfortable momentarily hearing of his upbringing in India and how it was made clear that being beautiful meant being white. When he came to Australia, he was therefore quite surprised that people who were white were paying so much money to try to become darker, using tanning lotions and spending significant time laying on the beach. This helped him to recognise the lie that he had been told. He reminded us that no matter what deceptions we may have aligned with we are fearfully and wonderfully made, exactly as God has intended, and that each of us has a role to play in making the world a better place. God can and will use us powerfully and incredibly if we allow Him.

As tradition demands International Week concluded with the International Food Fair. while still always cognisant of COVID and the protocols it requires us to use, staff and students were able to enjoy a feast of delectable dishes from countries such as China, Korea and Vietnam. Thank you to everybody involved in hosting such a special week.

The Year 8 students loved their inaugural Snow Camp. When asked what they enjoyed the most there was a resounding response of learning to ski or snowboard including going fast downhill, seeing improvement in their skills, the adrenaline rush and the fun in swerving on the snow. They also appreciated the chairlift, which accommodated six people at a time as they traversed above the snow fields, and for the girl’s magnificent accommodation at the lodge. Thank you, Mr Gaschk, for organising this trip and for your long-term dream to make this a part of the Oxley Camps Program.

Year 9 students will also be thinking a lot about camp as they prepare for the five-day experience at Charnwood. While it is often referred to by students as ‘survival camp’, parents may rest assured that students will be well looked after, have more than enough food and will mature significantly through the variety of activities in which they will participate. I am looking forward to taking part for the first few days and getting to know my group of boys a little bit better.

In Exodus 33:7, we read, 

Now Moses used to take a tent and pitch it outside the camp some distance away, calling it the ‘tent of meeting.’ Anyone inquiring of the LORD would go to the tent of meeting outside the camp.” 

I am not sure I would have enjoyed 40 years of non-stop camping, but it is still interesting to think of this in light of our relationship with Jesus today. Through His sacrifice we can approach God directly, at any time, in any place, without need for a middleman or any specific buildings or rituals. What an amazing privilege and blessing this is!

Greg Barker

Deputy Principal – Head of Senior School