Published on: 14 November 2019

  • Year 9 Making of Men program
  • Old boy connections
  • Design and Technology Exhibition
  • Year 10 Venture

Last Thursday night we held our OQD Sundowner with Year 8 parents to provide an overview of the program their boys will experience next year when they commence Year 9. It was great to reflect on the program and how far we have come since its introduction in 2018. This year-long program for all Year 9 boys discusses themes such as identity, relationships and purpose. Since the program’s commencement we have been collecting feedback and analysis of responses from all involved parties (fathers, mothers, boys) confirms that the experience has been a very rewarding one. According to one parent “ …being an old boy that had a very difficult time at school, to see the change in the School’s pastoral care is comforting. All the people involved cannot be thanked enough for their exceptional work on OQD. This program is likely to be the number one reason why you would send your boy to Christ Church in the future.”

We have had a number of touchpoints with the OBA over the past month, the AGM, Assembly, Scholarship Trust meeting, committee breakfast and the annual sundowner next Thursday. Having an engaged and supportive alumni is part of the attraction of Christ Church. The relationship is about growing and maintaining supporters of the School, talented alumni sharing their wealth of experience with current students, international ambassadors for the School with old boys situated around the globe, creating opportunities to enhance the student experience and give them a competitive advantage in the job market, and financial benefits with alumni being generous and creating scholarships for students who may otherwise not attend this outstanding school. We are grateful for our relationship and the degrees of exposure we have to all of the above. As the Year 12 examinations draw to a close we can be proud of the 194 ‘new’ old boys who recently joined this collegial group.

Tomorrow night the annual Design and Technology Exhibition opens, showcasing major practical projects and portfolios of our Year 12 Materials Design and Technology students, plus a variety of products by Design and Technology students from Years 7 to 11. The work is amazing and testament to the wonderful skills of our staff and the dedication of the students. Please come along, the event commences at 5.30pm.

Next week Venture commences for our Year 10 students (see the video here). This signature component of our Outdoor Education program is very much a ‘rite of passage.’ Beginning in Year 4 and concluding as it does with Venture, the Outdoor Education program helps to develop boys’ resilience, strength of character and ability to ‘live with others.’ I am looking forward to joining the staff and students for part of their amazing journey and to hear the stories that are inevitably told when the boys return from an experience such as this.

Alan Jones
Principal