PRINCIPAL’S MESSAGE 02 FEBRUARY 2018 From the Principal… What a wonderful introduction Monday night’s Parent Information and Dinner Night was to the exciting year that lies ahead. We have had some great feedback and clever ideas already shared between your homes and Riverside and the was a sense of unified confidence as discussions, presentations and questions all blended into a memorable evening where ‘community’ was the focus.

Yes, we have yet to create the new name and identity of the parent/school committee that will soon be established, but the clear direction for Riverside should make the role of that group quite vivid.

Most of the awesome and brilliant milestones and learning occasions at Riverside occur unrecorded. The wider family of Riverside and the community around us just misses out on seeing, hearing and celebrating these successes and even hilarious failures. Hopefully, as we connect more frequently and fully, this will happen less and less. A photo here, a funny story there, a student narrative published or a quick note home – these are going to be celebrated and shared more because the connection between us all is stronger, clearer and better.

Those of you who were unable to eat and chat with us this week are welcome to arrange to meet the teachers in the weeks to come. Please do! We have handouts which may be of interest to you regarding how what and when you children will learn a huge range of things in 2018.

Have you caught up with the things that are new for this school year? There are so many!

We have a new choir and music teacher, Mrs Poots, who has already begun training our voices for future performances. The students have begun caring for the stretch of the Ross River behind the school. We started Genius Hour for the entire school, which is injecting some project-based learning skills into the program and will culminate, each term, with each group sharing their findings, creations or ideas with the parents which can attend on the last day of that term. Activities in Term 1 include basic carpentry, quilt-making, river ecology, gardening and cooking. We look forward to seeing these projects unfold over the next 8 weeks.

Teachers have spent a ridiculous amount of time and energy in preparing for the start of this school year and I know that they believe it will be an even greater year of learning if our parents can contribute or connect more through the course of the average week. We have been so appreciative of the many parents who have already become active in reading, fruit chopping, office support, tuckshop preparations and even the careful construction of new sports equipment.

Keep an eye on these newsletters through 2018 as it can be easy to just place your trust in the school and then divorce yourselves from this critical phase of your child’s life-long learning journey. The parents most involved will be the ones most appreciative of the efforts that will be expended by all the students and staff. We have excellent teachers, excellent student leaders, excellent support staff and some pretty cool events to look forward to.

50 years of Riverside Adventist Christian School. This year has been prayed over, planned for and thought about for some time. I think 2018, and not just for the nostalgic ones like me, will not quickly be forgotten. God is already a step ahead, preparing the way, I believe, so we just need to lean on His almighty arms and relax! Enjoy the caring, expert program I believe will be delivered 2018!

Mr Ian Humphries Riverside Prayer From February 5, please join us on Mondays at 7pm in the Riverside Adventist Christian School library for a short time of prayer. We will be focusing on expressing gratitude to God for His goodness, praying for the school community, and listening for His leading. If you are unable to attend, we would love you to take a moment at this time to pray for the school wherever you are. Thank you! DATES TO Pick up Zone REMEMBER Please keep in mind that the pick-up and drop-off zone