Wellbeing – Imagine

Friends

faithadmin Oct 9, 2024 0 Comments

No, I’m not talking about Ross and Rachael or Joey and Phoebe, although that sitcom is worthy of conversation. I’m talking about the friends that you and I have. I’m not sure who you would list, but my list would include Callum, Matt and Kel. Each of these friends represent different seasons of my life and evoke memories of great moments, experiences, adventures, disappointments and mistakes. That’s the things about friends, they are markers in our lives, for good and for bad. We call them friends because they are with us through ups and downs, easy and hard times. Friendship,…

Wellbeing Whole College

But I love you

faithadmin Aug 7, 2024 0 Comments

‘For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.’ John 3:16 This is the bible reading we used in chapel at our Primary School this week and every time I hear this beautiful verse I am struck by the overwhelming love of God. This is the love that we celebrate and live at Faith in all circumstances. One of my daughters regularly got into mischief. We would often say that trouble seemed to follow her and, no doubt, she sometimes sought it out. She has an outgoing,…

Junior School Wellbeing Whole College

Kids these days don’t know how to talk to each other!

faithadmin Feb 14, 2024 0 Comments

It’s normal these days to see a group of children, teenagers or twenty-somethings all sitting with each other in silence, heads down, eyes glued to a screen, captivated by the world within their devices. Simultaneous chats with multiple friends, voice messages, images, text, and videos. Communicating with animated gifs, adding stickers to images to create a message, snapping a short video, or capturing a few seconds of audio. This is the world of communication that our children, teenagers and “millennials” (and increasingly, we all) inhabit. But did you notice what was missing? Talking. There is very little talking! The most…

Learning Secondary School Wellbeing Whole College

Strong Women

faithadmin Nov 29, 2023 0 Comments

I had the pleasure of walking through the Year 7 project-based learning (PBL) expo on ‘Strong Women’ that was open to our parent community for an afternoon. It was no surprise that the vast majority of strong women chosen by students to celebrate during this learning expo were mothers and grandmothers. Of particular interest to me was a handwritten story book in which a student had penned responses from their mum to some pretty hard-hitting questions like “What is your biggest regret” and “What would you do differently”. As I looked around the multiple rooms of displays, I realized there…

Lutheran Identity Principal Wellbeing

A Foolish Foundation

faithadmin Nov 8, 2023 0 Comments

When studying the relationship between theology and education for my Master’s Degree many years ago I was asked to consider the decalogue in a particular essay. ‘The wha?’ The ten commandments. ‘Oh! … that decalogue” I recall having an argument with a mate as a young zealot and arguing with him that the ten commandments were irrelevant, that Jesus himself told us that there was a new law, a new way and it was love, the old ways didn’t count. ‘We should be motivated by nothing more and nothing less than the death and resurrection of Jesus!’ I argued. Right. …

Learning Wellbeing Whole College

Curiouser and Curiouser

faithadmin Oct 11, 2023 0 Comments

One of my favourite childhood stories was ‘Alice in Wonderland’. I loved the way anything in Wonderland was possible, from talking cats to cards that marched, potions that make you shrink and cake that makes you grow. As a child I wished to visit Wonderland, firmly believing that if I found the right hole to fall down, I too could find myself in a magical land. Sir Ken Robinson has a fabulous Ted Talk on the need for schools to foster creativity. He talks about children’s innate creativity and ability to imagine, and encourages schools embrace children’s imagination and innate…

Principal Wellbeing Whole College

If I had more time I would write a shorter letter

faithadmin Sep 8, 2023 0 Comments

I love it when I learn something new. This week for the first time I heard the phrase, ‘If I had more time, I would write a shorter letter’. Wow. As a person who is energised by big ideas, and at the same time as distracted by shiny things, I found this concept, well, attractive. If I had more time, I would write a shorter letter. Brilliant. The phrase is attributed to many great names over history, Mark Twain, Benjamin Franklin, Woodrow Wilson, Cicero, the list goes on. Most likely though the saying is thought to stem from the French…

Learning Wellbeing Whole College

Who do you remember? Who’s remembering you?

faithadmin Jun 14, 2023 0 Comments

When I was in Year 3 my teacher Mrs Paterson made me believe that I was a special kid. I remember her being a pretty strict teacher but also very caring. She seemed to know every kid in the class. I guess you would say she had us figured out. Different teacher, different year, but this feeling of being known was repeated in Year 6 with Mr Robertson and then with various teachers in high school. There were adults outside school as well. My parents, my uncle Col, a basketball coach and cycling mentor. As I look back over the…

Learning Wellbeing Whole College

Champions

faithadmin May 31, 2023 0 Comments

Why does every kid need a champion and why are relationships key in education? Rita Pierson, a well-known educator, once said, ‘Teaching and learning should bring joy. How powerful would our world be if we had kids who were not afraid to take risks, who were not afraid to think, and who had a champion? Every child deserves a champion, an adult who will never give up on them…’ and I think about that a lot in context of contemporary learning. We are asking young people to step bravely into an unknown world, a world where there are so many…

Lutheran Identity Secondary School Wellbeing

Relationships are KEY…

faithadmin May 3, 2023 0 Comments

I often get asked by families, past, present, and future, what is the thing I love most about Faith, the thing that I believe sets us apart from other schools. The answer is always simple, obvious, and comes straight to mind every time. It is our authentic relationships across the College and, in particular, the way our staff genuinely care about our students and actively build quality relationships based on trust and mutual respect. It is probably not a surprise to many that research clearly tells us that one of the things that has the biggest effect on student performance…

Friends

But I love you

Kids these days don’t know how to talk to each other!

Strong Women

A Foolish Foundation

Curiouser and Curiouser

If I had more time I would write a shorter letter

Who do you remember? Who’s remembering you?

Champions

Relationships are KEY…

You Missed

Joy

Do Kids Still Build Billy Carts? Rediscovering the Value of a Play-Based Childhood

School Leadership in Faith-Based Schools: A Unique Responsibility

It’s celebration time!