Can I extend a very warm welcome to all our students and families from all of us at Parkes Christian School. It is so great to be back at school again with all your happy faces. This year we start the school year with 374 students, our biggest enrolment to date. While we aren’t chasing growth, it is certainly exciting to see so many students and families choosing to be part of all the great things we have to offer in 2024.
This year we have a fantastic staff lineup including a few new faces. All staffing details are included in this week’s newsletter, including a full staff list for your information. The calendar of events has been emailed to all parents providing a full overview of all events in 2024, including excursions, hot food days, dress ups and other opportunities for students to get involved in something outside of normal school routines. It is our hope that providing you with a full overview of events will help families with your own planning and week to week routines. In any case, it is shaping up to be the best year ever for all our students from Kindergarten to Year 12!
I hope you managed to enjoy some quality time with family and friends over the holiday period. It has been really nice hearing plenty of stories from the students about their adventures. I had a really great break over Christmas and enjoyed getting out and about enjoying some time near the water and doing some exploring. I certainly have a few fishing stories I could share, but will save them for another newsletter perhaps! It has left me feeling refreshed, inspired and ready to give all of you my best in 2024.
As a staff we spent time together before students arrived this week. It was a valuable time for us to get in and focus ourselves for the year ahead with plenty of careful planning and preparation. We began each morning as a staff, exploring our theme for 2024 which is ‘Encountering Jesus’. How encouraging it is to look at all the ways God encountered individuals throughout the Bible and to hear how He continues to encounter us today in all sorts of ways! Our memory verse this week is Psalm 148:15 which says – God is near to all who call on him, to all who call on him in truth. Be encouraged that today God is still looking for those who call on him and promises to be near to them. That includes you!
It is my greatest privilege to be in Christian education. As I often reinforce, alongside teaching student outcomes well, our role is to effectively partner with churches and families to deliver consistent, safe and accurate teaching and learning in the Bible with a heavy focus on the life of Jesus and the gospel message. We are most definitely not a church, but a school. As we get into our year, I am praying that all our students will be inspired to continue getting to know God as a lifelong journey. How exciting it is to know that all of us are made by God for a purpose; that all of us have the ability and opportunity to live lives that honour God by simply meeting the needs of others and extending kindness each and every day. There is power in the gospel, and power in schools and families partnering together to raise young men and women who are confident, equipped and excited to live a life of purpose in all they do. What an opportunity we have!
So as we get into the year, let me thank you for partnering with us in education. Let’s all continue the great work in 2024 of educating our most valuable resource, your kids!
Have a great week and I hope to see you all at our Welcome BBQ next Monday evening!
Glen
