Ruth Thompson

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.

Mark Ramsay, Principal

After a lengthy recruitment process, we are pleased to announce that Andrew Southwell is joining the Kuyper team as our new Chief Financial Officer. Andrew is a qualified accountant with a Master of Management. He has extensive experience in business management, having managed his own printing business for nearly twenty years. We are confident that Andrew’s professional background will greatly benefit our team.

Part of maintaining a school culture that remains true to our vision is employing staff who are committed Christians, who identify with the School ethos and have a Biblical worldview. This applies not only to our teaching staff but also to administrative and support staff. If we are committed to being a truly Christian community that keeps the gospel at the heart of all teaching and learning, every one of our staff members needs to be on board. Andrew’s Christ-centred heart for people is a good fit for our school community. 

Andrew joins us three days a week, Tuesday to Thursday. Feel free to pop in and say hello.

Mark Ramsay, Principal

Every second Wednesday at 2:50 p.m. in the Library, K-6 students meet for a Primary Assembly. This is an opportunity to celebrate the learning that has been happening in our Primary classes, sing together, and talk about what it looks like to Learn in God’s World at Kuyper. 

Last week, I shared with the students the importance of being thankful. Thankfulness helps us be happy, which is the H in WHOK.* Being happy or joyful is something that God calls us to do.

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 says this:

Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. (NIV)

One way that we can practise being joyful or happy is by thanking God in all circumstances.

In the spirit of this, I asked the students and staff to share some things about the Athletics Carnival, for which they were thankful. Here are some of the answers:

• That we could run races.
• For the good weather.
• For Mr Baldwin, who organised it all.
• For strength.
• For fun times.
• For the sausage sizzle.

We then prayed, thanking God for each of these ways that His provision for our Athletics Carnival made this day such a fun and enjoyable time together. 

God provides for us in rich and abundant ways, in both the large and small details of life. We have much to be thankful for. Practising thankfulness is a good and right response that helps us have the right attitude towards God and others.

Here is what I am thankful for today:

• All the parents and families who make up our Kuyper community.
• The students who approach each day of learning with wonder and enthusiasm.
• The staff who work tirelessly to provide the best learning environment for our community.
• Coffee!
• Jesus – who loves us to the point of laying down His life for us.

Let me encourage you to consider what you can be thankful for today and to share it with your childen. You might find that this, in turn, encourages them to rejoice and be thankful as well!

Parents are always welcome at our Primary Assemblies. The next one will be held on Wednesday, 3 July, commencing at 2:50 p.m. in the Library. 

* WHOK stands for Wise, Happy, Obedient, and Kind. These are key things that we are called to do by Jesus. We use the WHOK acronym with our Primary students to help them understand how to love God and love others.

Mark Ramsay, Principal

I’m pleased to share that in my time here over the last two and a half years, I’ve never heard a parent ask, “Oh, you teach about Jesus here? I didn’t realise this was that kind of school.”

At every enrolment interview, and indeed in every conversation I have with parents considering Kuyper for their children, I am very clear that Kuyper is a Christian school. If there is one thing that I want to ensure that all parents fully grasp, it is that all the staff at Kuyper hold to our faith in Jesus with the utmost commitment. Every staff member at Kuyper is a follower of Jesus, and we all view our work at Kuyper as service of Him. 

Jesus’ life, death and resurrection change everything. They change our view of ourselves, our relationships, and how we live. They also change our approach to running a school. There is nothing outside of the scope of Jesus’ Lordship. What we teach in our classrooms, how we maintain our facilities, the compassion with which we care for unwell students, the way we drive the school vehicles, and the integrity with which we manage our finances – Jesus claims authority over all these things. As a school, we seek to honour Jesus in every part of every day. This is what we believe. This is what we hold firmly to.

It is also true that we are an open-enrolment school. This means that we recognise that our student and parent community includes a variety of faith and lifestyle beliefs. Let me be very clear—all are welcome in our school. We recognise the right of parents and students to hold different positions on lifestyle or faith as private matters. Nevertheless, it is important that families who join our school community understand and support what the school promotes, practices, and teaches. 

The founders of Kuyper wrote a Statement of Faith to ensure that all members of the school community understood the beliefs they held to be of the highest importance. Upon enrolment, all parents are asked to acknowledge that they have read and understood this Statement of Faith.

At the recent Annual General Meeting, the Kuyper Christian School Association voted to accept an updated version of the Statement of Faith. It does not contain new beliefs and continues to acknowledge Jesus’ Lordship over all things. However, the language has been amended, which should help convey meaning more clearly. I encourage you all to read this new Statement of Faith to ensure that you continue to understand what Kuyper promotes, practices, and teaches.

If you have any questions about Kuyper’s Statement of Faith, I encourage you to raise them with me or a member of the Board. Please do not hesitate to make contact via the school office on 4573 2999 or admin@kuyper.nsw.edu.au. We would love the opportunity to discuss any questions you may have over a cup of tea or coffee.