An Unexpected Turn…Last week took a path none of us expected. The temporary school closure due to the asbestos discovery disrupted routines, created uncertainty and placed extra pressure on families. We are deeply thankful for the patience, understanding and flexibility shown by our parent community, and for your calm cooperation as we partnered with WorkSafe Tasmania throughout this process. Your support during this time has been incredible. As we move into the final stretch of the year, with three exciting weeks still ahead, I want to encourage our whole community to remain present, engaged, and committed. There is still so much rich learning, celebration and community life to enjoy together before we reach the end of the school year. This is a wonderful time to finish strong, care for one another and keep living out our values with joy. Last week, I had the opportunity to review the School Magazine for the final time before it went to the printers, and I was overwhelmed with gratitude to God. Even though the year is not yet finished, the Magazine already captures so many moments of God’s kindness, faithfulness and provision. Page after page tells the story of learning, service, joy, growth and connection. It was a beautiful reminder to pause, reflect and give thanks to the God who has walked with us through every high and low of the year so far. The way students, staff and families supported one another through last week’s unexpected closure showed the very heart of Northern Christian School, and reflected our theme for this year, Loving God. Loving Others. Loving God. Loving Others. As we continue journeying through the 2025 school year, my heart is full of thankfulness to God, the Giver of every good and perfect gift. In a world that often celebrates achievements without acknowledging the Author behind them, we want to be a community that pauses to thank the One from whom all blessings flow. Our theme, Loving God. Loving Others, has guided us throughout the year. It reminded us that love is more than a feeling. It is a daily practice and a response to the love God has already shown us through Jesus. At the beginning of the year, I introduced this theme with a large red envelope at Line Up, just before Valentine’s Day. Inside was a simple but powerful message: “Our school should be a place where love is seen, heard and felt in every interaction.”
Students reflected on Jesus’ words in Matthew 22:37–39: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart … and love your neighbour as yourself.” And we held onto the truth of 1 John 4:19: “We love because He first loved us.” Across the year, we have seen this love expressed in so many ways. In classrooms, on the playground, during visits to Derwent Waters Retirement Living, at the Light Festival, in assemblies, excursions, sports days, camps, and in quiet moments of friendship, students have shown kindness, forgiveness, courage, and compassion. These moments remind us that loving others is often most meaningful when it requires patience and sacrifice. Faith and Community Mustard Groups have continued to flourish this year. Students gather to read the Bible, ask honest questions, pray and support one another. One student shared, “Mustard is one of my favourite things each week.” It has been a joy to see so many students explore their faith and discover who Jesus is. A parent recently said, “There is something so different about this school community - our daughter has started reading the Bible at home and wants to talk about what she’s learning.” This captures the heart of Christian education: growing minds while shaping hearts. Learning and Excellence Our students continue to make strong academic progress. We remain committed to high-impact, evidence-based teaching grounded in a Christian worldview. Structured Literacy, Explicit Direct Instruction (EDI) and our renewed approach to Mathematics are helping students build confidence and strong foundations. STEM also continues to flourish, with two teams representing NCS in the state-based FIRST LEGO League and all Year 5 and 6 students participating in our in-house competition. Students have performed very well in other competitions such as ICAS, the State History Challenge, Brixhibition and Australian Mathematics Competition. Students have also achieved good results in PAT, NAPLAN, and BASE assessments this year, with many exceeding national averages. We celebrate these achievements, but we also remember that academic data does not define a child. It cannot measure kindness, perseverance or faith - qualities that matter deeply to God. Living Our Values - Respect, Kindness and Resilience Our School Values of Respect, Kindness and Resilience remain central to daily life. Through the SPARK Program, students are encouraged to recognise and celebrate these values in action. For the first time, our whole-school SPARK Jar was filled this year. This is due to the efforts of all students to work together towards this goal. For example, one student said, “I think Student B should get a SPARK - he was so kind to me when no one was watching.” With input from the SRC, students chose a whole-school celebration to acknowledge this milestone and recognise the positive culture they have helped create. We are grateful to the Community Engagement Committee (CEC), who have shown great kindness by supporting events, helping fund new sandpit equipment, and gifting Bibles to Kindergarten and Year 6 students.
Our Year 4 students received kindness when they were warmly welcomed at Aveo Derwent Waters, forming meaningful intergenerational friendships that blessed both students and residents. Thankfulness and Hope As we head into the last three weeks of the school year, we continue to enjoy, as a community, treasured traditions such as the Year 6 Fun Day, Learn to Swim Program, Kinder and Year 6 Graduation, Thanksgiving Service, and the School Picnic. Each one adds richness to the story of our school. In these busy weeks, I will endeavour to pause regularly and reflect on God’s goodness throughout the year. Like the one man who returned to thank Jesus in Luke 17, may we be a community that not only celebrates the gifts, but returns to honour the Giver. Thank you to our families for entrusting your children to us. Thank you to our staff for serving with dedication, grace and love. And thank you to our students - you inspire us daily with your curiosity, kindness, courage and joy. As we approach the end of the year, may we finish well - with gratitude, unity and renewed commitment to be a school community shaped by God’s love. Because of His love, we can love others. Bethany Armstrong - Principal
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