Living As People of Integrity

What a day it was on Monday on the Primary and Senior Campuses! Well over 600 excited and nervous students filled our previously quiet playgrounds, courtyards and classrooms.

Our newly redeveloped spaces were quickly in action with Year 5/6 students enjoying their new classrooms, our new play equipment filled with students, and refurbished areas in action.

As we met with students, we had time to talk about some of the characteristics of an effective learner. This year, we are focussing on sharing a common language of learning across our school, from kindergarten through to Year 12. The way we describe these characteristics or attributes is important and encourages students to be active agents in their own learning, giving them the language to describe what they are doing and why.

“This term our focus is on being ‘people of integrity’”

Our attributes of a Calvin learner will become an increasingly common part of our communications in class and with students. At Calvin Christian School we are:

• Courageous,

• Resilient,

• Compassionate,

• Curious,

• Reflective, and

• People of Integrity

This term our focus is on being ‘people of integrity’. For the Secondary students we describe this as “striving for good character, even when no-one is watching” and for our Primary students, “we act honestly and make good choices”. Encouraging our students to live lives of integrity is one of the ways that we are living out our vision of being a transformational Christian learning community, a place where choices matter, where we continue to grow and learn, being transformed into the image and likeness of Jesus.

Scott Ambrose — Principal

Fleeing to the Hope

Education is, at its core, a hope-filled activity.

A parent’s commitment to supporting the education of their child, a teacher’s planning and preparation, and the community support that we enjoy, all indicate that we understand the purpose and intent of this educational journey for our children. Our mission statement describes this as seeking “to provide the highest quality Christ-centred education that prepares and equips students for life”.

In our last Newsletter edition, we saw examples of some of our Prep students’ thoughts on what that life might include. Some students envisaged themselves as teachers, saying “I also like learning. I can teach the kids in my class and I can still keep learning the things I don’t know very well”. Others talked of becoming scientists: “I would like to be a scientist so that I can learn new stuff – I would help some people by teaching them”. Others saw a future doing things that brought them joy, like ‘donut maker’, ‘pizza man’, basketball player or policeman.

“As you have cause to celebrate with family this Christmas, we give thanks for our families and your children and pray that you may be filled with a sense of deep hope found most securely in Jesus.”

In the midst of celebration and the busyness of the end of year, it is wonderful to hear the voice of some of our youngest children sharing their hopes for the future. In a world that we know can be filled with challenges, our young people can be bombarded with messages of hopelessness and fear.

Perhaps this is why the author of the book of Hebrews wrote of fleeing “to take hold of the hope offered to us (so that we) may be greatly encouraged”. Encouraging in our children a sense of wonder and hope for the future and their own futures can begin with a sense of their relationship to a deeper purpose, as we would describe it, a connection to the one who gives ultimate purpose and meaning to life itself.

This Christmas we celebrate this hope again as we remember the birth of Jesus Christ. As the passage in Hebrews goes on to say “this hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast”. As you have cause to celebrate with family this Christmas, we give thanks for our families and your children and pray that you may be filled with a sense of deep hope found most securely in Jesus.

Over the course of the last seven days, we have enjoyed the presence of many parents and family members on campus as we have celebrated, in turn, our Year 6s, Primary Awards, Year 10-12 Awards and Year 12 Graduands, and finally yesterday, our Year 7-9 Award recipients. We celebrated as our Year 12 student, Levi Vonk graduated in the top 100 students in the state along with our successful Year 12 group. These celebrations have brought to a close our 2022 school year and we thank you, our parents, for partnering with us in this incredible hope-affirming journey with our students.

Scott Ambrose — Principal

Growing our Students

Those of you who avidly read our local newspaper would have noted an article in yesterday’s edition highlighting the top 10 ranked Tasmanian schools for NAPLAN results across the last five years.

Calvin Christian School ranked in the top 10 for both of the year groups analysed (Years 5 and 9), reflecting the positive results that we see from our students in a range of areas of endeavour and across a range of measures. This year we have already had cause to celebrate outstanding student performances in the Arts, Mathematics, Sciences, Humanities, Sports and much more.

“There is no simple recipe for each child and often there is not a simple linear process of growth and development.”

Preparing students well to achieve their potential is a process. There is no simple recipe for each child and often there is not a simple linear process of growth and development. Rather, we learn and grow, are nurtured and tutored, through the range of learning experiences (and even challenges) that form part of our growth. A structured approach, intentional decisions and the provision of age and stage-appropriate learning opportunities is vital to ensuring strong student learning outcomes.

Teachers play a pivotal role in this, as do parents, as well as the range of individuals involved in a child’s life. As a school, we often talk about a sense of partnership in the education of our students; that parents and teachers can collaborate in the complex task of preparing and educating an individual child. As parents you can do this by supporting your child’s engagement with their school, connecting with teachers, and engaging yourself in the life of our school community.

There is, of course, a third dimension to the education of our children and that was clearly understood by the founders of our school when, 60 years ago, they sought to establish a distinctively Christian school. At the core of this philosophy was a desire that students might be raised in an environment (both at home and school) where their spiritual (as well as their academic, physical and social) development was purposefully planned. As our mission statement identifies, our purpose is to provide the highest quality Christ-centred education that prepares and equips students for life. We do this with a hope for our students as reflected in the prophet Isaiah’s words: “All your children will be taught by the Lord, and great will be your children’s peace”.

“In this task, we are grateful for the blessing of dedicated and faithful teachers who place the education and nurture of your children front and centre.”

In this task, we are grateful for the blessing of dedicated and faithful teachers who place the education and nurture of your children front and centre. At the end of this year, we have an opportunity to give thanks to a number of teachers and staff who have faithfully served over many years and are retiring or moving. These include retiring staff, Ruth Herweynen who has worked with our Kinders for almost twenty years, Penny Leder, and Jenny McDonnell; those leaving teaching for the moment: Belinda Straatsma, Naomi Wright, Michellé Lammerding and Cath Towns; and staff with new opportunities: Annalé van Heerden (who has accepted a role as Head of Middle School at St Virgils). In turn, we welcome a number of teachers for 2023, including Tim Wherrett (Year 9 Discover Programme), Melanie Curé (Year 2), Mathew Yost (Year 5/6), Tristan Bishop (Drama), Marco Figueroa (HASS), Stephen Matthews (Head of Year 7), Rachael Honey (EAL and Learning Support) and still more announcements to follow in the coming weeks as we finalise their appointments.

As we celebrate the outstanding achievements of our students, I know that you will join me in thanking those who have served our school and students so well and pray excitedly for our incoming teachers. We look forward to our celebrations to come and introducing our new staff to you over coming weeks.

Scott Ambrose — Principal