Do you ever get the sense that time is passing faster? Term 3 feels very much like that, not least because of the busyness of the Oliebollen Festival.
For many of our Year 11 and 12 students, it is now the countdown towards exams, another period of intense time when preparing for what is to come is forefront in many of their minds. For others, it may be the impending break or the conclusion of the football season that is at the forefront of their minds.
In the midst of busyness, it can be hard to slow down to re-focus our minds on what really matters and perhaps to prayerful consider our decision-making. And yet, taking time to re-centre ourselves on the relationships and things that truly matter is a healthy thing to do, emotionally, spiritually and physically. Jesus showed the way in this respect and the Bible records a number of moments when he withdraws to spend time in quiet prayer and relationship with God the Father.
“... taking time to re-centre ourselves on the relationships and things that truly matter is a healthy thing to do, emotionally, spiritually and physically. ”
Recently, we have had reason to stop and to consider. Our Oliebollen team have been taking time to celebrate the successes of a challenging COVID-era Oliebollen and to think about how we build and improve on this event. Our senior leadership have also been taking time to review the feedback from our ‘community health audit’ results from the term 2 survey that many of you would have participated in.
One of the common threads that came through our parent surveys was a strong sense of community and connection. 93% of the parents who responded reported feeling welcomed at Calvin (above the national average for this survey) and 96% would recommend the School to other parents. Comments like: “The staff are always friendly and welcoming. You feel like part of a family”, were great reminders that relationship matters. Equally, there was opportunity to consider areas where we need to improve and we are particularly interested to probe those areas where we can do more to build our community and to serve the educational needs of our students.
From a survey that considered parents, staff, local business owners, and students in Years 6, 10 and 12, our parents identified that Calvin Christian School is recognised in our community as:
Well-regarded
High Academic Standards
Christian
Inclusive
As we head into the school holidays at the end of this week, we will be continuing to reflect on what we can learn from our experience and community responses. In the middle of a busy season, we are also aware of the need to maintain our focus on the things that matter, a community and individuals centred on God, partnering with parents in the education of their children.
Scott Ambrose - Principal