I am pleased that we have been able to announce the appointment of the next Principal of Green Point Christian College. Mr Joel van Bentum will commence his duties on 22 January, taking over from me as I focus solely on the work and development of Melos Education Limited – the group of schools of which we are now a part. You will have received an email last week about this appointment and we are working with Mr van Bentum on a short video introduction which we will make available to you soon.

It has been a privilege to lead the school over the past four and a half years and as I have been reflecting with the executive team on what we have accomplished, it is a lot. Mr van Bentum is very aware that his job is to ensure the momentum we have been building up continues and that he leads the team here to the full implementation of the new direction we set for the College in 2020. Sound foundations have been laid to see us do a much better job of equipping students for life, and working with you as parents to shape them and guide them to become quality people. I trust you will welcome him in, as you have me and give him your full support.

The HSC examinations are in full swing and have gone smoothly so far. For this we rely very much on a team of people who give of their time to help supervise and support our students.  For many years this team was led by Mrs Mary Austin who did a sterling job of organising an increasingly complex process. This year, Mr Alan Reynolds is our Presiding Officer, and he has settled into the role well.

We do not know for how many more years the current examination system will operate, but the writing is on the wall that more appropriate and effective methods of assessing students’ learning now exist and the HSC in its current form will eventually disappear. That will not be a bad thing especially for those students who find the whole examination process stressful, but who are able to demonstrate their learning in many other ways without the stress. We will wait to see what that looks like but many of us in education look forward to that day.

We are also in the season of interviewing new staff for next year and while we are filling most vacant positions well, there is still some way to go. Please be in prayer for quality applicants to come and join our team here.

Phillip Nash