Dear Parents
It’s not “another year gone” for me: it’s a great year, an inaugural year, a blessed, year. A year to be appreciative for. I’d like to give a very heartfelt thank you to one and all for their warm welcome. I feel embraced, encouraged and enabled by students, teachers, support staff and parents.
Genesis is an amazing school: a great place to learn, to belong and to grow. It is a champion school based in a Christian worldview and expressed with a Christian heart.
Recently I conducted a qualitative survey across one Form class per year level. The findings from this survey reveal what students think about their school.
The four big ideas that the data revealed are:
- A champion team: I have certainly been plugging that idea since I arrived at Easter this year. Our student body understands that a champion team will always beat a team of champions. Though they aren’t screaming “Queenslander”, Genesis students are encouraged to keep high expectations of each other; to seek the common good; and, to get alongside those who need encouragement to do better. This is a place where we all belong, where compassion is exercised; where the rubber of service hits the road of life.
- Be a champion: Through that “we” mindset of a team, students become the best version of “me”. The survey revealed that Genesis students truly appreciate the opportunities they are afforded here. They embrace high academic standards and a thorough cocurricular offering. They appreciate a College climate that helps you pick yourself up and learn because if you are trying your best you are often just beyond your comfort zone.
- Shine like a champion: A surprising result from the survey was how Genesis students desire a solid reputation. The way in which others see you act, the way in which we conduct ourselves, and dare I say it- uniform and grooming – are important to the students. They enjoy the high regard our College is held in amongst our community. There is a right sense of pride in being a Genesis student.
- Our God champions: Of great encouragement is that Genesis students value the Christian education they receive. We enjoy a freedom in Australia to express our faith and live by our values and our school flourishes through that freedom. Students are embracing our Christian values and investigating what that means for their own personal journey.
Over this Christmas break, I’ll be giving thanks for my first year at Genesis and be praying that He would keep us safe and close to Him. Thanks be to God.
Blessings
Stuart Taylor
Head of School – Secondary
