It was lovely to see so many of our families at Limelight last night. I was also thrilled to see some of our new 2024 staff and families in attendance. What a wonderful way to celebrate the many ways God has blessed and continues to bless our school community.
As this year draws to a close, I would like to take this opportunity to thank some of our staff who will be moving into new seasons in their life in 2024.
Lisa Clucas commenced with us in 2018 as a teacher’s aide. Over the last six years, Lisa’s calm, patient and prayerful support has been a significant blessing for many of our students and staff. As a fully trained teacher, Lisa’s versatility has been an extraordinary provision for our staff team, working in numerous roles as a teacher’s aide and Primary teacher. Commitment and faithfulness have been the hallmarks of her work, and we will miss her quiet and godly example in our school community.
We pray that God will open new doors of service for Lisa in the new year.
In addition, the Hill family will be making a big move to far north Queensland at the end of this year to be closer to their extended family. The Hills joined us in 2018 when Joseph started in Year 1. Tracey commenced as a teacher’s aide at the end of 2020, and not long after, Ken joined our School Board.
Tracey’s joyful energy, enthusiasm and creativity have been evident in every aspect of her work and relationships at Kuyper. Her capacity to get alongside and motivate students has been a great asset to our support team, and we are particularly grateful for her commitment to establishing a regular parent prayer group.
In addition, Ken’s faithfulness and wisdom have been a significant asset to our School Board. His prayerful and godly approach has been an influential example in our school community and a great encouragement to both board members and staff.
As a family, the Hills have made a tremendous contribution to our school community, and we will miss their partnership and encouragement. We thank them for their commitment and pray that God will continue to bless their family in this new season.
We also say farewell to Mr Gareth Thompson, who will be moving into a new role at another Christian school in 2024. Gareth is a long-standing member of the the Kuyper community, joining as a parent in 2009, when he and Ruth enrolled their two youngest daughters. He was a member of the Board that initiated the commencement of our Stage 6 program, and one of his daughters was part of our first HSC cohort. Gareth stepped down from a Head of Department position at another Christian school to join the Secondary staff team as our first Mathematics teacher in 2017. His experience as a Maths teacher, HSC marker and HSC judge has been invaluable in establishing our Stage 6 Mathematics program and teaching our HSC Extension Mathematics courses. He was also a part of the team that commenced and established our Vanuatu partnership.
We are particularly grateful for Gareth’s extraordinary understanding of, and excitement for, mathematics and learning, as well as his willingness to serve. His Heave Hoe service team have transformed a section of the bushland behind the library this year, removing invasive weeds to create access to Redbank Creek for our classes and revealing the beauty of the rock wall and ferns along its bank.
We will miss Gareth’s passion for all things mathematical, sharp sense of humour and commitment to the growth of our school community. We thank him for his dedication to Kuyper and pray for God’s blessing on this next season in his life.
In this season of change, we are grateful for God’s faithful provision for Kuyper over many years and can be confident in His ongoing provision in the years to come.
In Christ
Ian Shaw
Principal