Community Snapshot

At the beginning of this month, data from our 2022 Community Health Audit was provided to me.

This survey, undertaken in Term 2, 2022 gathered responses from parents, staff, and students (Years 6, 10 and 12). The purpose of these snapshots is to provide an update on key areas of strength and potential improvement for our school – in short, a chance for us to reflect. That is exactly what our senior staff will be doing over the coming weeks and months as we seek to distil our key learnings and implement related strategies into our practice.

And what did our survey results tell us? Our parent respondents identified five key strengths of our school. They were, in order of identification:

1. Christian teaching,

2. Strong academics,

3. Caring for students,

4. Christian values, and

5. Strong community.

This is an encouraging list and potential new parents coming to tour the school list some very similar reasons for wanting to enrol their child at Calvin Christian School. That consistency of message says a lot about the strength of our community and the high level of understanding and alignment that parents feel with our school vision, mission and values. There were no end of parent comments that I could have pulled out as examples of this. They included statements such as “very supportive Christian staff.  Christian ethos/values. Striving for academic excellence”, and “the community feel, high education level, ever improving school facilities”.

“Just as we work to ensure our students are increasingly reflective, we too as adults benefit from opportunities to consider another perspective.”

In identifying areas for us to work on as a school, parents identified a range of aspects including: parking (pick up and drop off), size, space, and opportunities for contact with teachers. We were also able to gain a break down of parent satisfaction in each year group, providing some valuable insights and data for analysis. This week, I have been sharing some of these results with our teaching staff and we will continue to keep you up to date with plans and focus areas for the year(s) to come.

“Thank you for your contributions to the survey results and, more importantly, your family’s commitment to our school community. ”

Just as we work to ensure our students are increasingly reflective, we too as adults benefit from opportunities to consider another perspective. Thank you for your contributions to the survey results and, more importantly, your family’s commitment to our school community. Continuous improvement is a part of life and we look forward to sharing ways in which our staff team are working to improve our own practice for the benefit of your children. I welcome your engagement and feedback, whether provided through surveys or at other times of the year. Your words of encouragement mean a great deal as we partner with you.

As we are reminded in Scripture: ‘Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing.’ — 1 Thessalonians 5:11

Scott Ambrose — Principal

Success...

Over the course of the last week, we have had opportunity to celebrate the incredible success of members of our student body.

Across a range of diverse fields, from the Arts to Athletics to Academics, Calvin Christian School students have experienced the type of success that comes through diligence of effort and the honing of their God-given skills and talents.

It was a delight to see the large number of awards that our students received in the Arts at the Royal Hobart Show recently, including the Best Youth Art in Show, awarded to Sophia Zimmerman. Calvin Christian School students were also present at the Tasmanian All Schools Athletics Championships where Matilda Lange claimed 5 gold medals in the U14 Hammer, Shot Put, Discus, 80m Hurdles and Long Jump and, incredibly, competing up an age level and gaining Silver in the U16 200m Hurdles. Oliver McAdie and Georgia Lange also received bronze medals.

“We celebrate our students achieving State and National recognition through the expression of their gifts and talents, we also celebrate those who, facing adversities of many kinds, make daily decisions to be present and to give of their best. ”

In the Academic fields, I was delighted to receive a letter from the organisers of the National History Challenge, notifying me that Niamh Blachford was a National Winner, receiving the award of Tasmanaian Young Historian and flying to Canberra at the end of the month to receive her prize from the Minister of Education. In this year’s Australian Mathematics Competition Phillip and Lukas Joubert and Yebei Li achieved High Distinctions and a number of students received Distinctions and Credits.

Success comes in many forms. We celebrate our students achieving State and National recognition through the expression of their gifts and talents, we also celebrate those who, facing adversities of many kinds, make daily decisions to be present and to give of their best. Many of our students are daily and diligently doing just this as they grow in their strength and abilities, doggedly pursuing success that is meaningful to them.

Our prayer for our young people, as parents and educators, is that they might seek to give their best and to grow, whatever the circumstances. With this frame of understanding, success does indeed come in many forms. At the end of the day, it is the heart that matters and we rejoice in the celebration that comes when we have given of our best.

Paul exhorts his readers in his letter to the church in Colossae that ‘…whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him’. However, this encouragement comes at the end of a series statements that remind us that it is the transformative power of God in our lives that will ultimately sustain us, that success is built on a foundation of practices that allow God to use, shape and mould us. ‘Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts…’ he writes, ‘let the word of Christ dwell in you richly…’

As we ask God to continue his transforming work in our lives we look forward to the successes to come in ways both public and private. Well done to our students who are continuing to succeed, we rejoice with you and, with our Year 11 and 12 students completing their final classes yesterday. Who are now looking towards their upcoming examinations, we pray that the peace of God will rule in your hearts and His Word will dwell richly in you as you prepare to show all that you have learnt in the examinations.

Scott Ambrose — Principal

Every Day Counts

With the final term of 2022 commencing this week, it is a good chance to be reminded that, when not sick, regular student attendance at school is vital to students’ learning.

I have said to our students that you will learn and gain new understandings simply by being at school. Some of the things that you hear, see and experience in your classes are opportunities that may be lost if you are not present. Of course, there are ways to catch up for the diligent student but it is far easier to ensure regular attendance and provide opportunities for your child to learn.

“... a student who misses up to fifteen days of school a year (three school weeks) will have missed as much as half a year of schooling by the time they finish Year 6.”

An alarming statistic from a Victorian Education Department programme entitled “Every Day Counts”, identified that a student who misses up to fifteen days of school a year (three school weeks) will have missed as much as half a year of schooling by the time they finish Year 6. The accumulated loss of teaching and learning time can have a significant impact on the learning outcomes for a child.

As a School, we are focussing on ensuring that we maintain high standards and expectations for our students right through to the end of the term. Ensuring that students maximise their learning potential through regular attendance when they are not sick, is one way of working in partnership with the School for the education of our students. Helping them to maintain healthy eating, sleeping and exercise habits all contribute to better health and support school attendance. This is particularly relevant to our Year 10-12 students as they face examinations in the coming weeks but it is good to remember that these years are the culmination of many years of (hopefully) consistent education.

“The accumulated loss of teaching and learning time can have a significant impact on the learning outcomes for a child.”

As we partner with you in the education of your children, we look forward to opportunities to learn, grow and celebrate in Term 4. If you have questions about our programs and how we support your child’s learning, feel free to get in touch with us or your child’s teacher. We serve a God whose presence in our lives brings meaning and purpose to all that we do, each day and each hour. We can make this a reality in our own children’s lives by supporting them to be active, thoughtful, and engaged young people, present in mind, body and spirit as they explore the wonders that God has for them each day.

Scott Ambrose - Principal