Partnership with a Christian School
Congratulations to Mrs Ward, her drama students and her team for putting on a beautiful Remembrance Day assembly. It is moments like these when I am most proud to be serving in a Christian School. An assembly like today reminds our students about the history of Jesus and the meaning of the word honour. We are living in times where honour doesn’t come naturally to people and therefore we need reminders about its importance.
As Christians our vision for schooling is informed by the story of Jesus as found in scriptures. In the Bible we are presented with a vision of God and God’s relationship with humanity and also a picture of the world as it could be.
We want to partner with parents/carers and students with the aim that all will flourish. We want our students to flourish in their education, flourish in their friendships and relationships and flourish in their lives. The dictionary describes flourish as; “to grow or develop in a healthy or vigorous way, especially as the result of a particularly congenial environment.”
The great thing about having Christian teachers is their focus is also on serving their students and families. They pray for them, work diligently for them and deeply care about them. This provides a good environment for them to thrive and flourish. I never see the teachers here at Bethel giving any less than their absolute best. Even non-teaching staff give their absolute best. The other day Mrs Griffiths was chatting away to someone (its usually pretty quiet next door) and I saw a Year 11 student who was feeling overwhelmed had moved in to her office. The student spent the day next door working quietly and being quietly encouraged by Mrs Griffiths. Situations like this are happening throughout the school and it is such an honour to work alongside people with such passion and enthusiasm to see our students thrive.
Another situation that blew me away was the commitment to students by the Year 11 & 12 teachers. With the offering of extra tutoring and personalised learning all our Senior Secondary students are doing really well. Our Year 11 group (next years Year 12s) are already stepping in to leadership and showing the way. Next year every Monday period one our Year 10,11 and 12s will be meeting for a time called ‘Inspire’. Students will lead the time together, we will have guest speakers, get in to God’s word and discuss the big issues of life. I’m really excited about this time we will be spending with the Senior school to help build a wonderful and inclusive culture here at Bethel.
The Cardus studies In Australia have revealed that Christian school graduates are well formed through their schooling experiences. It also states that Christian school graduates interact with the society and culture around them well and are more active in political and environmental causes. The studies suggest that when it comes to civic engagement, social responsibility and contribution to the common good Christian school graduates are valued and meaningful citizens in the public square within contemporary society. Our aim at Bethel is to give students everything they need to be excellent citizens in their lives beyond Bethel. Next year for our 40th Anniversary we will be celebrating some of our past students and present students achievements that demonstrate that the above has occurred year in and year out.
Psalm 1:1-3 reads, “Blessed is the one who does not walk in step with the wicked or stand in the way that sinners take or sit in the company of mockers, but whose delight is in the law of the Lord, and who meditates on his law day and night. That person is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither— whatever they do prospers.”
Thank you for partnering with us to help your child flourish.
Blessings,
Mrs Mim Butler
Principal
