On Sunday 13 February, Wyndham Christian College had their Staff Induction Service at Wyndham City Church, with Ps Dan Parker and Ps Chris Davis. It was a time to welcome the College staff and pray for the school year ahead.

We acknowledged and were extremely grateful for the commitment and hard work of the College staff, and embrace 2022 with joy and excitement. The Church community also had the opportunity to meet the Executive Principal - Damian Higgins and Head of Campus from Heatherton Christian College - Jason Burgess. We were also blessed to have the Church Elders and College Board present at the service. It was a wonderful honour to be part of the service and I have included my address and photographs from the morning.

“I feel extremely blessed and honored to be with you all today. I thank God every day for bringing me to Wyndham Christian College.

I have been an educator for 3 decades and everyday is like a new day, with new joys and opportunities. When I see a child, I see what God has graced the world with, an opportunity to walk with Him and be part of His family.

My teaching experience began at St John’s College for 7 years and then I completed a 23 year season at Aitken College as a foundation member, a pioneer.

I have wonderful memories of being part of a community which grew in strength to support a larger region. My experience as a Head of School and passion in special education ensured that every child we supported had access and equity in their education and life. My role changed in later years to focus on community engagement and marketing, developing branding on what the school represented and community needed.

Schools are wonderful places, our teachers and all our auxiliary staff contribute to Wyndham Christian College’s greatness. I don’t have the words that express how I feel every time I walk through the gates.

I am truly blessed, working with a wonderful team at Wyndham, but also I want to acknowledge our founders, the College Board, Church Elders, Ps Dan and Ps Maureen.

On the campus ground we have amazing support from Mr Higgins, Mr Burgess and also Ps Chris.

It takes a village to raise a child, and our village has wonderful and talented people at its centre. We are all here together.

There is no other place where parents trust so much, where they leave their children with strangers. We have one of the greatest jobs, but teaching is more than a job, it is a way of life. We love the children as our own and give them our best, so they can grow to shine in their light.

With this in mind, my passion lies with Christian Education, to focus on Christian living, values and principles. This is our foundation to provide the strongest grounding for our children.

We nurture and provide our children to achieve their personal best, in Christian living, education, social and emotional wellbeing, when all these come together, we have resilience in our children.

I would like to share one of my favourite verses from Proverbs (22:6)

Train up a child in the way they should go:

Even when they are old they will not depart from it.

I am passionate about preparing our children for today, but for tomorrow. We know our world is rapidly changing, and we need to be agile and skilled in how we support our children. We provide them with 21st century capabilities and qualities that can empower their learning engagement, their voice and enhance their value system, and also focusing on deep learning capabilities.

At Wyndham our children will be aware of their personal growth – how this helps them to be productive and empowered learners, member of our society, but also remembering their Christian values are the core of their learning and actions.

I love to chat with people and relationships are very important to me. That I get to spend time with all members of our community. Especially connecting and supporting the home-school and community partnership.

I am looking forward to growing our school together and getting to know you all.”

The Christway Wyndham Connection

Issue 1 · 15 Feb 2022

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