A note from Mr Bray - 26 July 2019

All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work. 2 Timothy 3:16-17 It was just three short weeks ago that I wrote the final NCS Bytes article for Term 2, wishing students and parents/carers all the best for a restful holiday break. Amazingly, those three weeks have now passed and in this Bytes article I am setting out to welcome everyone back for the commencement of Term 3 which begins for all students this coming Monday, 29 July. I mentioned that Term 3 will commence for all students this coming Monday. However, all staff have been back at school for the past week as we have participated in our July Conference Week. Once again, this has proven to be a very productive time. It has been a wonderful privilege to begin every day with community singing and an extended devotional session. Some of our time has been set aside for personal preparation as teaching staff have made detailed plans, ensuring that everything is organised for the return of students next week. However, the majority of time has been set aside for staff professional development programs. Two complete days were devoted to participation in a series of AVID (Advancement Via Individual Determination) modules. These were presented by an external AVID consultant. Much of another day, involved a NESA (NSW Educational Standards Authority) Liaison Officer in-servicing our staff on topics such as the consistent allocation of grades and how to make appropriate adjustments in order to cater for all students within a classroom.

In this brief NCS Bytes article, I plan to bring two important forthcoming events to your attention. The first is National School Boards Week. (We celebrated this event for the first time last year.) This year, we have chosen Week 2 of Term 3 to mark this important occasion. This is especially appropriate because this week also includes our ‘Insight 2019’ evening where we will have the opportunity to be introduced to our hardworking Board members.

National School Boards Week was instituted as a way of appropriately recognising the significant contributions made by approximately 75,000 school board and school council members across Australia’s Catholic, Independent and Government Schools. These dedicated men and women are all volunteers who commit considerable personal time and effort to ensure that Australian schools are well governed.

By the time that you receive the next edition of Bytes, both National School Boards Week and ‘Insight 2019’ will have occurred. For this reason, I am making the following suggestions that present just some of the ways that you might be able to encourage our Board members:

• Writing a ‘Thankyou’ card or letter • Personally conveying your gratitude • Setting time aside to pray for our Board members.

To assist you in this task, I am providing a list of the names of the members of our school community who are currently serving on the NCS Board:

Paul Dickinson (Chairman), Ryan Heard, Rob Bray, Kurt Clifton (Treasurer), Jeff Fairbairn, Belinda Davie, Richard Chartier, Bessie Weissel and Jenny Schaefer.

The second very significant event that I have already briefly referred to in passing is our ‘Insight 2019’ Evening. This will be held in the MPC (Multi-Purpose Centre), commencing at 6.30pm and concluding by 8.30pm. The program includes time to enjoy a complimentary delicious supper and wonderful coffee provided by ‘The Bearded Brewer’. What better way to conclude an evening as you engage in relaxed conversation with other members of the NCS ‘family’?

As previously mentioned, our ‘Insight 2019’ program will provide opportunities to meet the current members of our school board. The program has been deliberately designed to provide an ‘insight’ into key areas in the life of NCS over the past 12 months and into some of the exciting developments that are being planned now and into the future. A number of items will also be presented for your entertainment by members of our talented student community. (These items will also include a ‘sneak preview’ from ‘Jungle Drums’, the Primary School musical production that will be presented during Week 3 of this term.)

I am pleased to announce that we will welcome Mrs West back to our staff team this term. As you would be aware, Mrs West has been on Maternity Leave since the birth last year of Freya, a daughter for Mr and Mrs West. Mrs West will be teaching one day per week on a Friday. Mrs West and Mr Walker will be involved in a team teaching arrangement in the area of Secondary English.

During the recent school holidays, I had the opportunity to view a DVD entitled ‘Billy Graham: An Extraordinary Journey’. This documentary focused on the life story of evangelist Billy Graham who passed away in February of last year. It was an inspiring story that recounted the life of Billy Graham, who is recognised as being the evangelist who reached more people for Christ than any other of his generation. Billy Graham always stressed that it was all about the message and not about the messenger. He did not seek personal fame and glory. What particularly struck me was that, as he addressed often tens of thousands of people at his many rallies, he would repeatedly use the phrase, ‘The Bible says….’. In this way, he was always stressing the absolute authority of God’s word. This is what has led me to choose my focus verses for this edition of NCS Bytes. They come from 2 Timothy 3: 16-17 (NIV) and state: ‘All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.’ This is one of the key truths that we emphasise as we present our educational programs at NCS from a Christian worldview perspective.