ISSUE 4, FRIDAY, 29 MAY 2015 he has not believed in the name of God's one and only Son. This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but men loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what he has done has been done through God." John 3:16-21 (NIV)
FROM THE PRINCIPAL, JEFF DAVIS My thanks and congratulations go to Hillcrest Christian College’s Performing Arts Director, Jeremy Williamson and the many staff and students, who were involved in the production of Jesus Christ Superstar this week. It is impossible to name all of those involved, however I want to truly highlight the efforts of the staff for having the courage to take on such an incredible show and wrap it in the Christian Faith and beliefs through which this College has been built upon. Jesus Christ Superstar was written by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice in 1970. Although it features all of the biblical characters and is fundamentally built around the story, as per the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, the story is built around the belief that Jesus Christ was just a man. This assumption was one that has caused incredible resistance in Christianity circles around the world and has seen this musical condemned by spiritual leaders of all denominations for decades. Hillcrest Christian College is built on the foundational faith that Jesus Christ is the Risen Lord and Saviour of the world, "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because
We believe that Jesus Christ was the Son of God, was crucified on a cross and on the third day rose again. The Hillcrest Christian College production highlights our faith exceptionally well and the interpretation of Jesus Christ, as just a mere man, is carefully and wonderfully challenged. I am immensely proud of the staff and students who have devoted incredible time and energy to this production. The end result sets a new benchmark for our future productions. Thank you and congratulations for performing an incredible production.
honours program One of the clear observations that I made at the start of the year is that students were leaving Hillcrest in some cases to obtain more subject options at other schools. This is partly due to the size of other schools, and their capacity to offer additional subject choices, and also the fact that with lower enrolments at Yrs 10-12, Hillcrest has historically limited options to the most popular subjects. After considerable financial modelling and planning, we have made a decision to offer a subject guarantee to all parents. In essence, this means that from this point forward Hillcrest Christian College will offer a suite of subjects commensurate with what would be expected at larger schools, such as All Saints or Emmanuel. Irrespective of the number of students who select these subjects, we will offer the line structure, that is included as part of this newsletter, each year, so students from our Junior Learning Community can make accurate plans for their senior school journey. We can also consider acceleration into these year levels from a very early age, as our timetable structure will remain consistent from year to year.
Not only are we providing a large range of subject choices, but we have also been able to secure partnerships with Bond, Griffith, QUT and Southern Cross Universities, where we can offer first year subjects as part of our senior school syllabus. This will provide students with the unique ability to be able to complete their formal years of education at Hillcrest Christian College, while still obtaining course accreditation into first year tertiary studies, as is expected from places such as the Qld Academy of Health Science. We are very proud to offer this to you, as it is a unique and specific way in which students at Hillcrest can receive significant benefits and opportunities beyond that which they would find at other schools. To assist students in planning their courses, we will be offering significant support to ensure that an individual learning plan is developed to maximise opportunities for them to achieve their goals and dreams they have for their learning journey. Please take the time to review the draft timetable at the link below and ask any questions so that we can clarify the incredible benefit this will provide to your child both as an education experience and a higher order learning outcome. YR 10-12 ACADEMIC OPPORTUNITIES
UNIFORM I have asked my team to review the student uniform, as part of the College review we are undertaking. I am pleased to inform you that this review has resulted in significant improvements in the quality and usability of our College uniform. Mr Dirk van Bruggen and Mrs Joy Geyer have worked with the uniform supplier to ensure that from the beginning of next year we will have a far more consistent uniform across year levels. Please take time to make yourself aware of the changes so you can plan accordingly for your child's needs from 2016 and beyond.
BUILDING WORKS The College building works are about to begin with the waterproof cover for the senior quad commencing construction this week. While this process will take a number of weeks to complete, we are ensuring that it will not provide disruption to the student learning program.
The digital sign construction at the drop-off area will be installed over the next few weeks, as we now have the brackets required to secure this safely. The restoration work for the sails, that were damaged in the Christmas storms, shall be reinstated in the next four weeks. Again, this will take place when students are not onsite in an attempt to prevent any potential injury. The planning for the new P-2 campus is progressing smoothly with regular meetings with all design staff. We are hoping to provide the final plans shortly after the mid-term break for all staff to consider. We are expecting building works to commence in October 2015.
NEXT P&F MEETING 7PM, WEDNESDAY, 3 JUNE 2015 I have thoroughly enjoyed working with the P&F to review areas of the College where parents would like to see improvements. The first two meetings, this year, have been very engaging and provided a great opportunity for parents to convey their ideas to the College administration. We are specifically interested in hearing your ideas and feedback to assist in the 5-year strategic planning cycle that is currently being developed. At our next meeting, we will be looking at the topic of co-curricular, such as sport and performing arts. In particular, we will be seeking feedback and input into the opportunities you, as parents, would like for your children. To facilitate even more parents coming, we have made arrangements for these meetings to be held in the Yr 7 Learning Space with childminding being provided in one of these rooms. I would encourage all parents to consider investing 2 hours to come to this meeting and participate in discussions relating to the improvement to Hillcrest and the educational experience that your children have access to. Bookings for child-minding can be made by clicking on the link below. Places are limited so please ensure you book in early. http://www.trybooking.com/HVYA
21 Bridgman Drive, Reedy Creek Q 4227 | PO Box 2503, Burleigh Waters Q 4220 | 07 5593 4226 | hillcrest.qld.edu.au | office@hillcrest.qld.edu.au ACN 010381334 ABN 68 947 459 366 CRICOS 01043C Hillcrest Christian College is an interdenominational ministry of Reedy Creek Baptist Church and is operated by Hillcrest Christian College Ltd.