From the Principal

Jesus, not only the light of Christmas, the Light of the World…

I don’t know about you, but I enjoy all the Christmas décor, especially the lights, at this time of the year. On Christmas Eve, I have a family tradition where we stay up quite late to see the Christmas lights twinkle and glow and enjoy Olliebollen. It’s a tradition that my family enjoys, especially my nephews!

I know that my family is not the only one with a family tradition involving admiring Christmas lights! I think of the Christmas Tree at the Hobart Waterfront; the twinkle and glow that draws so many families, puffer jackets zipped up all the way, embracing the cold and the wind from the Tasman Sea to get their family photo in front of the Christmas Tree. People will go to great lengths to see Christmas lights each year; I know my family certainly does. Lights do have the amazing power of drawing people with their glow!

As I have reread the Christmas Story, I have been reminded that the story of Christmas is that Jesus came as the Light of the World so that we may know Him as our Saviour and Lord. I always enjoy reading John 8:12, when Jesus proclaims, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness but will have the light of life.” Jesus came into the world to show us our sinfulness but also to reveal the way of salvation, to bring us out of the darkness of sin and death and into His light.

I have had many conversations with students, staff and family over the last two weeks about how we can easily get caught up with the never-ending Christmas events and forget that Jesus is the true Light of Christmas. Here are just a few ways that may be helpful to remind ourselves that Jesus is not just the Light of Christmas but the Light of the World:

Read the Christmas story out loud as a family: I encourage you all to remember to reflect that Jesus is the Light of the World who has come to redeem us by reading the Christmas Story in Luke and praising God for the greatest gift He has given us - Jesus.

Colours of Christmas lights: You could hang some Christmas lights to remind you that Jesus is the reason for the Christmas season and chat about how the colours of these lights remind us of Jesus! The colours of these lights can remind us of Jesus this Christmas season:

• RED reminds us of God's love and how much He loves us as He sent Jesus to shed His blood to cover our sins.

• WHITE reminds us of the purity and holiness of Christ. If we trust in Him, our sins will be washed as white as snow.

• BLUE reminds us that He has given us His Holy Spirit to live in and through us; He is always with us!

• GREEN reminds us that we are to be growing in Christ. Our day of salvation is just the beginning of a wonderful life process of becoming more like Him.

• YELLOW reminds us of Heaven's streets of gold and the hope Christ brings to us. (Creative Bible Study, 2022)

Pray: On Christmas Eve, as you sit down for dinner, or perhaps whenever you sit down for your Christmas meal with friends and family, I encourage you to pray and give thanks to God for Jesus. This prayer does not have to contain special words or need to be long; God listens to all of our prayers.

Let your light shine: I encourage you in this season to let your light shine by showing love and grace with your words and actions to others in this very busy season. Our calendars are full of events and tying up loose ends, and we are tired and weary. Let us be His light as we are reminded in Matthew: “You are the light of the world…In the same way let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven” (Matthew 5:16).

This Christmas season, let us not just admire the Christmas lights. Instead, let us give thanks and praise to God that Jesus is the ‘Light of the World’ so that we can know Him, and pray that we point people to the great light of the world, the Saviour of all peoples, Jesus!   Let us also pray that this Christmas, God will help us to be lights for Him as we share the Light of Jesus.

Have a joy-filled Christmas with family and friends, remembering and praising God that Jesus is the Light of the World!

Bethany Armstrong - Principal

End of Year Notes

End of Year Picnic - Prep to Year 6 Students

Tomorrow, (last day of Term 4), we will be having a picnic at New Norfolk, and the Student Representative Council (SRC) will be hosting a ‘Christmas’ themed Free-Dress Day. Students are invited to dress up in Christmas colours or Christmas costumes to raise money for additional donations to St Vincent de Paul. Donations for the ‘Christmas’
Free-Dress Day can be paid via QKR!

We warmly invite you to come and celebrate the fantastic year we have had at NCS by joining us from 10.15am for a picnic lunch and activities at Tynwald Park. Please ensure that your child has a water bottle and a packed lunch. We will be providing a special treat for the afternoon.

Semester 2 Academic Reports - Prep to Year 6

Your child’s Semester 2 Academic Report and School Magazine (one per family via youngest sibling) will be sent home (to the household the child is returning to this day). Any reports not collected by the end of the day will be posted, and a 2022 School Magazine will be available to be collected from the Office in the new year. If there are specific instructions you would like to provide regarding the distribution of your child’s report, please email the Office by 4.00pm on Wednesday, 14 December. No reports will be available for collection prior to Thursday, 15 December.

Book and Uniform Collection Dates

• Tuesday, 31 January 10.00am - 5.30pm

• Wednesday, 1 February 8.30am - 3.00pm

No appointment is necessary 

All class book packs need to be collected on either of these days. Teachers will have instructions for covering and labelling the books inside the packs.

Uniforms ordered via QKR! during the holiday break can be collected on these days or purchased from the Uniform Shop. Stock is subject to inventory levels, with out-of-stock items requiring a 2-3 week turnaround time.

Please note, the Office will be unattended:

• Monday, 30 January

• Thursday, 2 February

• Friday, 3 February

Farewell to departing staff

As the end of the school year arrives, with it comes the sad duty of farewelling much-loved staff members as they go on to new roles and new stages of life. One of these valued members of our teaching team has been with us for only a short time. The other has made Northern Christian School their home for a large amount of their career. Both of them have made an impact on our school, and we wish them well and thank them gratefully for their contributions to our community.

It is therefore with sadness that Mr Alan Lawson will be leaving Northern this year to start a new full-time job as a Music teacher. We know that he will continue to inspire his students to love music as much as he does, and we have loved having him at Northern this year.

We also farewell Mrs Vonnie Patterson as she relocates to Western Australia. Vonnie has faithfully served at Northern for 7 years with humility. She will be dearly missed, and we have all deeply appreciated her passion, kindness, and dedication to encouraging students to learn and flourish. We know that Vonnie will be a blessing to her new community and that students, families and staff will continue to be inspired and encouraged by Vonnie.

I want to publicly thank all these wonderful people as they have been a blessing to our whole community serving God in their various roles. May God bless you, Alan and Vonnie.

Endeavour Community Health Survey

You may recall the Endeavour Community Health Survey which families, staff, and Year 6 students completed earlier in the year. This was an excellent tool for receiving feedback from the school community, and I would like to thank each of you who completed this survey. There is so much to celebrate! Equally, there are areas we need to improve upon to ensure that we continue to be a transformative learning community providing the highest quality Christian education. I deeply appreciate the time taken to provide honest, constructive responses about what’s currently working well and what can be improved. Thank you for your contributions to the survey results and, more importantly, your family’s commitment to Northern Christian School.

Thank you

I want to express my sincere thanks and deep appreciation to all students, staff, parents and families for their incredible contributions in many seen and unseen ways in 2023. To parents and carers, I also thank you for allowing us to share this journey with you and for the opportunity to speak into your children's lives.

Northern Christian School can confidently step into 2023 with the knowledge that the God who has enabled and sustained us for the past 29 years will continue to enable and sustain us into the future; we will continue to be a transformational Christian learning community.

Bethany Armstrong
on behalf of the staff at Northern Christian School

Farewell Year 6

Library Update

From the Office