From the Acting Principal
Welcome back to Term 3. I trust your children had a refreshing break over the holidays from the daily routine of school and are ready to tackle the second half of the year with more vigour. Mr Cockrem, who has been on an extended break, will return to us at the beginning of Week 3 this term. I’m sure we will all welcome his renewed energy and vision as we head into the rest of the year.
With the start of Term 3 already underway, we should still mention the fabulously strong finish to Term 2 we had with the celebration of our Secondary Heritage Festival. I simply love this event on our calendar as it truly represents who we are here at RJ. We are a very diverse community who join together under the Lordship of Christ, being respectful of the ethnic backgrounds each of us represent. The colours, tastes and sounds that emanate from our Heritage Festival are refreshing reminders of our ability to come together as a family community at RJ.
During the last week of the holiday break, our staff undertook Professional Development that focussed on the wellbeing of students. As we explored this area of our work through evidence-based research and practice, staff were also challenged to do something for the first time they had never tried before. Afterall, our teachers ask this of our students on a day to day basis as we seek to challenge our students to excel in their learning.
In the last week of the holidays we also had 39 Secondary students take part in leading over 90 Primary students at this year’s CRU Blast Camp. A big thank you to all involved and also to Mr Rowe and Miss Mahaffey who organised the event.
At the Marsden Park Campus, our parents and students will have noticed the extension to the Covered Outdoor Learning Area (COLA) which was installed over the break. The COLA now runs the full length of Block B. This will provide much needed shade as we move towards our summer months later in the year. We have also extended the car park to enable better traffic flow and increase parking capacity.
We have had to make some slight adjustments to our Secondary Welfare Team due to some staffing changes throughout Term 2. These changes are reflected in the updated Lines of Communication document found on the RJ website and will stay in effect until the end of 2019.
- Stage 4 Welfare Coordinators – Mr Rowe & Miss Botros
- Stage 5 Welfare Coordinators – Mr Leenman & Miss Simos
- Stage 6 Welfare Coordinators – Mr Millard & Mrs Clay
Year 12 students start their HSC Trial Examinations next week. For many, the Trials cause levels of anxiety to be a little more heightened than normal as this is a very important time for them in their studies. However, we do need to remember that the Trials are an internal assessment and do not weigh as heavily as the actually HSC exams in Term 4. Since the Trial exams are going to cover every topic they’ve studied so far going all the way back to Term 4 last year, I think the biggest challenge is probably going to be remembering all the content since then. We wish our Year 12’s all the best and will be praying for them.
The Primary Assembly theme for this term is Women of the Bible and this week, 3R looked at Rebekah and the lessons we could learn from her life. In Genesis 24, 25:19-28, 27, Rebekah showed initiative and courage in leaving her family and marrying Isaac but her strong-willed nature meant that she didn’t wait for God to show his plan and suffered as a result. It was a good reminder to us all that when things don’t seem to be going the way we envisioned they would, it doesn’t mean God has abandoned us. Sometimes, it’s a case that we just need to lean into Him more and place our trust in Him and the plans He has for us. We are reminded in Jeremiah 29:11, that those plans are for good and in His time, He will see them come to pass.
Let’s lean into all that God has for us this term and trust Him to see His plans come to pass.
Mr Alan Dawson
Acting Principal
