Hope Springs Eternal

I am blessed. Every now and again I look up from my laptop and am in awe of the clear blue segment of sky that I can see. No clouds, no blemishes, only a beautiful blue sky. In fact, we all are blessed. I believe we all know we are, but how often do we remind ourselves. Recently I came across the podcast ‘Hope in Crisis’, hosted by Tim Costello with Dr Alia Abboud, Chief Development Officer at the Lebanese Society for Educational and Social Development. In brief, the interview covers the impact of the Syrian refugee crisis in Lebanon (over a fifth of Syrian refugees are in Lebanon) and the COVID-19 crisis that has continued to spread across the country. Both of these factors have really stretched the church in Lebanon as it supports various community groups. The outcome of which has highlighted the church as a driver of hope. Incredibly the podcast was recorded prior to the devastation caused in Beirut by the explosion near their port. We pray that the people of Beirut and Lebanon continue to be supported by those countries who can.

Personal Development

Recently, Year 8 students have been learning about catastrophising and rational thinking. They have been unpacking what both these responses might look, sound and feel like and strategies to cope during times of adversity, applying a disposition of resilience as the foundation for coping. It is important to reflect upon the fact that whilst our young people will invariably experience adversity, there will always be someone who is worse off. It is important to reflect upon the fact that whilst our young people will invariably experience adversity, we walk alongside and gently encourage students to keep perspective and grow in their capacity to apply rational thinking and demonstrate resilience.

EV3 and CyberTaipan

There is some incredible work being done in the field of robotics as Year 7 students engage in their IT lessons for the current trimester. Students displayed great enthusiasm as they programmed their robots and created Lego attachments. I couldn’t help but wish this was around when I was at school!

We also thank Mrs Janine Stone for her leadership and coaching of students for the CyberTaipan competition. CyberTaipan is an Australian cyber security competition run by the CSIRO. Families can read more about our involvement in this competition later in the newsletter.

Finally, I thank Mrs Rae Hall and the incredibly giving team of staff for guiding the Year 8 students as they choose their elective subjects for Year 9 in 2021. The collaboration across many departments and support from IT ensures our students are well equipped to map out and be hopeful of the positive next steps they take on their academic journey.

Mr Ben Ryan, Director of Students