It is hard to believe that we have nearly reached the end of another school year, and it is quite amazing to look back and reflect on the incredible blessings God has provided for us throughout 2017. I had the pleasure of touring the College with some prospective employees last week, to show them through our facilities and talk about the direction we are taking with student learning. Most of them emailed me afterwards to express their amazement at what they saw in this tour. At times, when we come to work or school at Hillcrest, we can be a little complacent to the amazing programs and opportunities that our students now have access to.
This year we welcomed our new Hillcrest Life team to the College. This team have chartered the unique Christian identity of our College, and are responsible for the development of a broad range of programs to support students in their spiritual and emotional growth. We have held numerous parent and student events as part of the development of the Hillcrest Life program. It has been such a blessing to have this team working closely with students and families to address areas of need, and to also provide ways for Hillcrest students to serve our local community.
As I approach the end of my third year of leading Hillcrest Christian College, I have been reflecting on how our College has evolved during this time. We now have many more students, and have welcomed a number of new staff who have brought great expertise and energy. The synergy of new staff, and our amazing long-serving staff members, has created a professional and talented faculty of teachers who are outstanding, innovative and student-focussed. We continually thank God for our incredible staffing community.
From a building perspective, we completed six major projects this year. Stages one and two of the Castle, the Year 6 precinct, the SLC renovation, the SLC and JLC carparks and the “Gully” playground. These new facilities have redefined our campus, allowed us to greatly enhance our learning experience for students, and added a tremendous ‘WOW’ factor to our College, which has been noted by many Hillcrest visitors throughout the year.
Our two new learning programs ‘I Love Reading’ and the ‘Secret Skills,’ are setting new benchmarks for our student-learning program for students in P-9. These programs, along with the new QCAA curriculum being offered for students in our Senior Learning Community, are uniquely positioning our College to offer an innovative learning program. Hillcrest Christian College won a prestigious ‘Innovative Schools 2017' award this year, in recognition of the programs we have introduced to our learning environment, and we believe that the fruit of these initiatives will be realised in the years to come.
On behalf of the College Leadership Team and Board, I would like to extend the richest of blessings to our entire College community, and thank you for your commitment to Hillcrest throughout our last two years of rapid growth and development. Our prayer is that you all enjoy a wonderful and safe Christmas break, while looking forward to the return of school in January.
We are very excited about the 2018 school year, and the opportunity to continue learning in our wonderful new facilities.
Blessings,
Jeff Davis
Executive Head of College
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