It has come to that time of year when we begin working with teaching staff and Class Solver to create class listings for 2025. Creating school class lists is a complex process based on a range of factors to ensure balanced and effective classrooms. There are common factors that are considered, such as mixed-ability classes, social and emotional considerations, gender balance, a balance of special needs, class sizes, friendship groups, teacher rotation and parent/teacher input.
Over the years, you may have formed opinions about teachers based on your own experiences or what you've heard from others. However, I encourage you to set those judgments aside for now. As a Primary school, we've worked diligently to ensure a consistent standard of excellence across all our teachers. What you hear as a parent may not fully reflect the significant learning growth happening behind the scenes, which can often surprise you.
With this in mind, we do not accommodate parent requests for specific teacher placements. I hope you can appreciate that, with 1,200 students to place in 2025, it is simply not feasible to cater to individual preferences. As a parent myself, I understand the desire to have a say in this decision. However, in my experience, having a variety of teachers throughout a child’s schooling builds character and resilience. It also helps prepare students for Secondary school, where selecting teachers is not an option.
If you have significant concerns about 2025, I encourage you to discuss them with your child’s current homeroom teacher. They are in the best position to understand your child’s needs and help guide the selection of their 2025 teacher.
You will shortly receive a letter outlining the process and how your child additionally chooses friends to be placed with.
In the last newsletter, I spoke about student devotions. Did you know that teachers also have Staff Devotions before school starts for the day? As part of our commitment to a consistent standard of excellence across our staff and to nurturing our Christian culture and identity, staff attend devotions every morning from 8:10 to 8:25. These take place in different locations around the College based on the staff members' teaching modules. We have a schedule that we follow, just like the children:
Monday: The public reading of Scripture
Tuesday: Our Staff Chaplains bring us a short sermon
Wednesday: We pray for the College community and specific prayer requests
Thursday: A staff member from the campus shares a devotion
Friday: Cross-campus, a staff member shares how they came to know Christ
Additionally, all staff meetings begin with prayer and each of us has the support of a prayer partner.
As you can see, we dedicate each day to the Lord, teaching from a Biblical worldview. We pray daily for the College, our students, parents and staff, and this is a vital part of our practice.
We very much appreciate your prayers and support.