It has been lovely to have all our students back and to feel the hum around the place and the excitement of a new school year. The Kindergarten students started on Thursday and we didn’t have too many tears from parents!

I want to begin unpacking our new purpose statement with you over the coming weeks.  I have presented these to the teachers and to Years 7 – 12.  We are working on modifying the graduate profile graphic somewhat for our K - 6 students to make it more accessible for them.

The core purpose of GPCC is to equip students for a life of redemptive action through a holistic education grounded in a Biblical perspective.
 
Education is commonly seen as being about preparation for life, the formation of a particular type of person and the enculturation of a generation.  All of these things can be good or bad.  We can use education to prepare someone to live a selfish life or a materialistic life or a hedonistic life and so on.  At GPCC we want to prepare students for a life to be lived as we understand God intends for all humankind; a life lived in obedience to Him and ordered in accordance with His design and original intent.

We recognise and accept that the creation is no longer operating as it was first created. The entrance of sin (disobedience and pride) through Adam has meant the world is now broken and so are the people in it.  We are born with a propensity to sin and need to be put right before we can actually live correctly.  Christians call this salvation.  We live under condemnation because of our sin, but God through Christ has taken the punishment for sin on our behalf and extends to us the possibility of being accepted and restored.

We are called to live as God’s agents of redemption in the world, sharing with others the good news that they too can be restored, and working to bring healing and goodness to all aspects of society.  In this way we demonstrate to others that there is a better way to live and that restoration is possible.  We look forward to the second coming of Jesus when He will judge the world and re-create it so that we can live together as intended.

Our purpose as a school is to equip students with the knowledge, understanding and wisdom to live this way and be agents of redemptive action in the world.  This is a much greater purpose than just being educated to get into university or get a good job.  It raises the stakes of the value of education as a means to becoming a change agent in the world.

Learning to read and write, to do mathematics, to understand various aspects of the world, ourselves and society, is vital if our graduates are to be redemptive agents.  We want them to be highly skilled and trained, ready for further training and a life of growth as they take up the Creation Mandate to be the stewards of the world and the developers of a flourishing society.

We look forward to partnering with you in this exciting venture.

Phillip Nash
Principal