Ruth Thompson

Alexis Clarke, Director of Programs and Development

Last week, we marked National Child Protection Week, an event organised and promoted by the National Association for Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect (NAPCAN). NAPCAN promotes child abuse prevention research and supports the safety and wellbeing of children and young people. The overarching message of the week, ‘Every child in every community needs a fair go,’ emphasised the importance of providing a safe and supported life for every child, both now and into the future.

This is not a new idea for us at Kuyper. Part of our founding Mission Statement says,

We recognise the worth and uniqueness of each individual and provide a cooperative environment that seeks to develop the whole child so that each one may grow in their relationship with God and serve Him.

Just as God knows and loves each of us individually, we seek to understand and value each of our students in a way that provides them with a supportive environment that enables them to grow and learn as God’s people in His place.

To complement this message, National Child Protection Week also highlights a specific theme each year to focus on critical aspects of child safety and wellbeing. This year’s theme, ‘Every conversation matters,’ shines a spotlight on the power of communication as a tool for keeping children and young people safe and well.

Conversations are powerful. They are the building blocks of trust, understanding, and connection, all essential to a child’s sense of safety and security. National Child Protection Week is a reminder for us all to start new and meaningful conversations. Whether these conversations occur between children and their caregivers, among peers, within families, with professionals like teachers or doctors, or between friends and neighbours, each dialogue plays a pivotal role in safeguarding our children.

This message is a timely reminder in a world increasingly dominated by technology, where in-person conversations are becoming less frequent. We must remember to talk to our children, listen to them, and engage in discussions that foster a sense of safety, belonging, and wellbeing.

As Christians, it is also good to remember that God has taken the time to communicate with us. God has given us His word, an ongoing dialogue between Himself and humanity. He speaks through His Word, and we respond through faith, obedience, and, sometimes, questioning. Conversations in the Bible are essential for revealing God’s will, teaching moral lessons, and guiding the narratives of both the Old and New Testaments. Through these dialogues, we see how God communicates His plans, offers guidance, and shapes the spiritual journey of His people. Communicating with our Heavenly Father provides a strong foundation for communicating with one another and our children.

Parents have a crucial responsibility to teach their children, and at Kuyper, we partner with you in this. Open and honest conversations between adults and children send the message that your children can always talk to you and that you’ll listen no matter what.

Our words, your words, my words, can make a difference. Every conversation, no matter how small, matters. Through these conversations, we can build stronger, safer communities for our children now and for future generations.

Parent resources: Parents | eSafety Commissioner

Wayne Speirs, Board Chair

As you will be aware, a debate surrounding religious discrimination legislation has been ongoing since before the last Federal election. However, the recommendations of the Australian Law Reform Commission (ALRC) in March this year posed a real and significant threat to faith and freedom of belief in Australia. The initial private draft of the government’s legislative package would have made it unlawful for Christian schools to actively choose staff who share and live the same Christian faith of our school communities.

In response, our national advocacy organisation, the Australian Association of Christian Schools (AACS), has been working in partnership with Christian Schools Australia and Associated Christian Schools as My Christan School to raise awareness about the valuable contribution of Christian schools in Australia and make our voice heard in a noisy and divisive political landscape.

As a result, Prime Minister Albanese recently confirmed that the Federal Government will not proceed with the religious discrimination legislation package, including the proposed removal of section 38 of the Sex Discrimination Act without any balancing protections.

It is good news that the Government has not proceeded with the ALRC’s recommendations in their current form. Thank you to everyone who prayed, attended the Faith in our Future town hall events, and wrote to our political representatives. Your voice was heard, and it made a difference. 

Unfortunately, we are no closer to securing a positive right for Christian schools to operate according to their ethos, and the future remains uncertain. It is more important than ever to keep our voices heard in the lead-up to the Federal election and secure clear commitments from both sides of politics about protecting religious freedoms for our sector into the future. 

When the founders of Kuyper established our school in 1982, their mission was to uphold the biblical responsibility of parents to educate their children by providing a school that functioned and taught in keeping with the biblical values taught in their homes and churches. Our mission remains the same today.

I strongly encourage our Kuyper families to be informed about the issues that affect your school. The My Christian School website and Facebook page are good places to start. Your prayers and participation ensure our voice continues to be heard in the public square.

Mark Ramsay, Principal

As our school continues to grow, I am excited to announce a significant milestone. From 2025, Kuyper will transition to single-stream classes in the K-2 years of our Primary School. Our two composite classes, K/1 and 1/2, will become three single-stream classes: Kindergarten, Year 1, and Year 2. This exciting development reflects the increasing demand for entry into our Kindergarten class and the faith our community places in us.

The change brings with it a number of positive implications:

Firstly, whilst we are already providing targeted instruction in Literacy and Numeracy for the three individual year groups in our K-2 classes, the move to single-stream classes will enable class teachers to focus solely on the curriculum requirements for each year level. This single-minded focus for our class teachers will allow classroom activities to be even more tailored to students’ developmental and academic needs at a particular stage. 

In addition, increased interaction with peers at the same developmental stage will benefit social learning. Single-stream classes will enable classroom communities where students share similar experiences and challenges. Students can form relationships with their core year group from the beginning. 

Lastly, a key benefit of moving to single-year classes is the capacity to accommodate more students. As a result of this change, new places have been made available in our Year 1 and Year 2 classes! If you know a family you think would benefit from enrolling, please let them know about our upcoming Open Day next Saturday, 31 August.

We have also commenced advertising for new Primary staff. Once again, if you know a teacher with a heart for Christian education, please let them know. Details are available on our website and Facebook page.

We are deeply grateful for the support and recommendations from our families. Your recognition of our school’s positive attributes not only strengthens our community numerically but also creates a positive culture of gratitude and respect. Your partnership contributes to a cooperative and joyful learning community.

We believe that moving to single-year classes will provide our students with a more personalised educational experience. As we implement these changes, our goal is to continue to create a supportive and engaging learning environment that allows each child to flourish as God’s person in God’s story.

There is a mammoth amount of effort involved in presenting a musical, and our recent production of Shrek, The Musical Jr., has been no exception. Kuyper Christian School would like to thank everyone involved in getting the show onto the stage.

The Shrek Production Team, a group of six dedicated and enthusiastic Kuyper staff members, have poured their time, energy, and creativity into producing a stellar show. Their commitment and passion for every aspect of the production have been truly inspiring. 

Director Mr Rob Weule has been the show’s foundation, guide, and faithful captain. His leadership, wisdom, and artistry have not only inspired but also guided the entire team – staff and students alike. His vision and direction have enabled every person involved in the production to blossom and shine. 

Producer Mrs Amanda McAlpine has been responsible for organising and managing all things ‘P’ – planning, people, paperwork, props, participation, promotion and prompting. Her understanding and implementation of the show’s ‘behind the scenes’ elements equipped and enabled the cast, crew, and production team to do their jobs well. Her ability to motivate, reassure and fix any issues meant that we were always ahead of schedule. Thank you for your flexibility, dedication, compassion, problem-solving, and motivation.

Assistant Director Mrs Meg Lloyd-Johnson has provided the cast with invaluable drama techniques and skills to develop and enhance characterisation and scene production. Her ability to capture the essence of a moment and teach the cast how to bring that to life was instrumental in making the show such a success. Thank you for your ideas, advice, initiatives and ability to see the grand scheme and make it all work together seamlessly. 

Creative Director Mrs Amy Thornton was tasked with creating and capturing the choreography, costumes and cheer. The show’s dancing parts are original compositions and routines choreographed by Ms Thornton. In addition, her organising, mending, altering and adapting of the costumes meant that every cast member not only looked the part but felt it, too! Thank you for your creativity, originality, animation, craziness and patience in making rehearsals and preparation fun and entertaining. 

 Music and Vocal Director Mrs Jodie Paul, with her enthusiasm and love for musicals, brought her knowledge and expertise in vocal training and coaching to develop every cast member’s voice and help them excel. Thank you for your exuberance, aptitude, instruction and flare in empowering the cast to find their voice and dazzle the audience.

Technical Director, Mr Mitch Cavens, spent hours setting up, tuning in and refining the sound, lighting, music and microphones to provide a truly remarkable and extravagant performance and experience. Thank you for your perseverance, patience, calmness, proficiency and ability to lead and teach others to serve and succeed. 

Thank you to the amazing tech crew – Jack, Pat, Jake, Noah, Finlay and Macsen – for all your hard work and commitment. Your willingness and dedication to mastering the sound and lighting were an asset to our production. 

Thank you also to the backstage crew – Ruben and Chayse – who learned the show inside out and mastered scene changes quickly and seamlessly.

Thank you to our stage and prop managers, Josh, Ellie and Felicity, for making and creating props and ensuring all cast members had their props ready to go. 

Thank you to the team of people who helped to paint the sets and backdrops and made the scenes and stage come to life:

• Miss Lyndall Gluskie – for painting the barn door, Duloc Castle and Fiona’s tower. 
• Mrs Heather Cumming – for painting the stage trees.
• Mrs Bec Block – for painting the Duloc Castle and Dragon’s Cave Lava.
• Mrs Christine Huyhn – for painting the beautiful and enchanting stage backdrop. 

Thank you to Mrs Aline Kirkby and your catering team for all the time and effort you put into Swamp Sweetery and the creativity of the delicious treats you designed and prepared.

Thank you, Miss Jemima Robinson, for your help in organising the costumes and designing and creating the hairstyles for the performances. 

Huge thanks to our make-up team. Our cast was literally transformed by the work of your hands! Thank you:

• Mrs BJ Weule – for your creative expertise in designing and applying stage make-up to bring our characters to life and for teaching these skills to our student team.
• Mrs Emily Gash – for your skill and technique in special effect make-up and prosthetics.
• Miss Kristine Carter and Mrs Bec Block – for your artistry in creating fantastic make-up looks. 
• Alyssa, Elsie, Kiara, Matilda, Abigail, Jess and Kiara – for your endless patience, diligence, and teamwork in assisting with make-up.

Thank you, Mrs Merrilynne Shaw, for your swiftness and focus in making all the microphone headset changes happen. 

Thank you, Mrs Jo Kean, for making the guard’s tunics, Duloc banners, and Lord Farquaad’s F’s.

Thank you, Mrs Lyn McLean, for making the Storyteller’s outfits, costume alterations, and adjustments.

Thank you, Mr Bill McLean, for your quick and innovative fixes, particularly your work on Lord Farquaad’s legs.

Thank you to our Principal, Mr Mark Ramsay, for your support, encouragement, allowances and commitment to getting Shrek, The Musical Jr., on the stage.

Thank you to the teaching staff at Kuyper Christian School for your support, patience and understanding in permitting students to be out of class and for your help during performances.

Thank you to the non-teaching staff for your willingness to do whatever was asked of you and your support and responsiveness in rearranging, sorting, printing, and communicating. 

Thank you to the parents, family members and friends of our cast and crew for allowing our students to be part of this production. Thank you for supporting their creativity and giving up your time to get them to extra rehearsals. 

Last but certainly not least, thank you to our incredible cast for your commitment and dedication to your characters and to one another. What a spectacular show!

God has given our community many gifts, and we are so blessed to see them brought together in Shrek Jr. 2024.

Kaelene McCaull, Head of Primary and Director of Teaching Development

One of my favourite activities as a teacher is reading to my class. There is something special about sharing a book with others that makes it more enjoyable than simply reading it on your own. Story-telling is a powerful way of sharing the narrative of our lives, passing on knowledge and thinking more deeply about the world around us.

The theme for this year’s Book Week here at Kuyper is ‘Reading is Miraculous: Share the Miracle of Reading’. Our book week celebrations in Week 4 offer us an excellent opportunity to share what we love about reading and the books we enjoy. However, this year, we want to share the miracle of reading beyond the boundaries of our school gate. 

Earlier this year, I had the privilege of joining Year 11 on their service learning trip to Vanuatu and visiting the Child Care Centre (CCC) school in Port Villa. Immense importance is placed on reading as part of learning in Vanuatu. CCC teaches its students to read and speak English because they believe this will give their children more opportunities to break away from the poverty they often experience. Reading books in English is a vital part of their learning, just as it is here in Australia, but they have very few reading resources. Their library is a small room filled with ‘retired’ books donated by libraries in countries like Australia instead of throwing them away. Many of them were old and tattered with a distinctive brown paper look about them. 

CCC is building a new school in Teouma, roughly 20km inland from Port Villa, and Kuyper will partner with CCC Teouma from 2025. How wonderful it would be if we could help fill their new library shelves with books that we love here in Australia—bright, colourful books that excite, share information, and tell wonderful stories. 

I am inviting you and your children to take part in this opportunity to share the miracle of reading with our friends in Vanuatu. We are asking every primary school student to donate one book to the library at CCC Teouma. This should provide a collection that appeals to all age groups and help the students in our partner school in Vanuatu grow in their learning. God has richly blessed us through our access to education and reading. We hope that we can encourage our students to serve others with the blessings they have received. 

‘The Wandering Bookseller’ will hold a bookstall at school on Wednesday, 21 August, in conjunction with our Book Week Celebration and Book Parade. We encourage you to purchase a book to donate to CCC Teouma on the day. Alternatively, students can bring a new book to donate anytime during Book Week, and we will arrange for them to get to Vanuatu. 

Students have been encouraged to talk with their parents about what would be appropriate for them to donate. If you have any questions, please feel free to email me at kmccaull@kuyper.nsw.edu.au

Thank you for your support in sharing the miracle of reading!

Find out more about our Book Week Celebration here.