Staff Insights
By Mr Brad Cooney, Deputy Principal, Head of Secondary School
Welcome to Term 3! The College has been a hive of activity over the past fortnight as highlighted in this and the previous edition of the Bulletin. Having proofread the Learning Summaries prior to the conclusion of Term 2, I am really impressed by the number of students whose co-curricular involvement and participation in our Service Learning program has been acknowledged and celebrated. Our students can be justifiably proud of their efforts over the course of Semester One in the Academic and Co-curricular fields. We can be particularly proud of our Year 12 students whose work in producing the Year 12 Revue for 2024 was of a very high calibre, a credit to the Year 12 students, Mr Brett Lamson, Head of Year 12 and Mr Nick Akhurst, Head of Co-curricular Drama, Dance and Technical Theatre. Many hours of work and rehearsals ensured the success of this year’s revue.
The student organisers of the 2024 Dirrum Dirrum Festival, that will be held on Saturday 17 August in the Mackinnon Senior School at Radford College, have chosen the theme for this year’s festival in response to a key component of the Uluru Statement from the Heart: “Makarrata is the culmination of our agenda: the coming together after a struggle. It captures our aspirations for a fair and truthful relationship with the people of Australia and a better future for our children based on justice and self-determination. We seek a Makarrata Commission to supervise a process of agreement-making between governments and First Nations and truth-telling about our history.”
We are grateful to Councillors from the East Arnhem Regional Council who have given us permission to use the Yolngu Matha word Makarrata as our theme. In choosing this theme we acknowledge the unfinished work of implementing the Uluru Statement from the Heart and its call for Truth, Treaty and Voice. We are also drawn to the word Makarrata due to its promise of hope and a way forward amid struggle in a range of personal and political contexts.
I encourage you to come along to the Dirrum Dirrum Festival and hear from a distinguished list of guest speakers on the theme of Makarrata. This festival is a student led initiative at Radford and I would like to acknowledge the organisation of our student committee and in particular pay tribute to Rev. Dr Katherine Rainger for her expert oversight of the festival.
In Secondary School staffing news, we welcome Mrs Jane Smith to the role of Assistant Principal – Student Engagement. Mrs Smith is a highly experienced leader in student well-being, with her most recent appointments in the Secondary School as Head of Student Support and Enrichment and Head of Transition. Jane is already well known by many of our students and families.
Mr Jason Golding has been appointed to the role of Acting Assistant Principal – Curriculum for Semester Two. Jason is well known to the Radford community as our Head of the English Department. On behalf of all members of the Radford community, I welcome Mrs Smith and Mr Golding to their new leadership roles and wish them every success as they continue to accompany our Secondary School students on their learning journey.
This term, let us strive for excellence in everything we do – from academics to co-curricular activities, from personal growth to community engagement. Let us work together as a team, supporting and uplifting one another along the way.
I encourage our students to set ambitious goals for this semester, challenge their limits and to never settle for anything less than their personal best.
As we begin this new semester, let us embrace change, welcome new opportunities, and continue to uphold the values of truth, compassion and wisdom that define our school community. Together, we can make this semester a memorable and successful one.
By Rev. Dr Katherine Rainger, Senior Chaplain
Radford College began as the dream of local Anglicans who wanted to establish a third Anglican school in Canberra. Our 40th birthday this year has given us an opportunity to discover anew the story of Radford’s beginning and to celebrate who we are today.
Last week Anglican Schools Australia, a network of close to 140 Anglican schools throughout Australia, held its annual conference in Melbourne. The theme was Embracing our AI. The organising committee did a great job explaining their choice of theme and the gift of Anglican Identity in educational communities:
- Our brave new world offers us challenges and opportunities our forebears could not have imagined. AI, Artificial Intelligence, promises to release us from mundane tasks, yet threatens to usurp our creativity. It challenges traditional ways of being and invites us into new realities. Such encounters can be unsettling.
- Anglican Schools have another AI, our Anglican Identity, which also offers both challenge and opportunity. In a secular, post-truth world where individuals increasingly are tasked with discovering their own personal meaning and purpose, holding fast to our AI gives us firm ground on which to stand and a story with which to interpret life.
- Our Anglican Identity also challenges us to declare what is essential to our humanity, and to nurture and protect the treasures we contain. In the rich and unpredictable diversity of human life, our schools can be places where all are welcomed and affirmed as beings created in the image and likeness of God, loving and serving God’s world.
Interim Principal Mr Andy Gordon, Associate Chaplain Mr Andy Fleming and Director of Student Experiences Mr Dylan Mordike also attended the conference. It was a very significant time of meeting with over 280 delegates from Anglican Schools around Australia. It’s hard to condense three full days of learning into a few sentences. If you’d like to know more, click here to see the program and click here to read about the speakers. Email any of us if you’d like to know more or have questions.
The things that stood out to me were the conversations with others from the Diocese of Canberra and Goulburn and other dioceses in Australia and beyond. Sharing our experiences of ministering, serving, leading and teaching in Anglican Schools was invaluable.
It was also a particular gift to hear from The Right Reverend Dr Vicentia Kgabe, Bishop of the Diocese of Lesotho in the Anglican Church of Southern Africa. Bishop Kgabe invited us through images to see the Kingdom and Diocese of Lesotho. There are 217 Anglican Schools in her Diocese as it is the practice to build a church, build a school and build a health facility at the same time.
Bishop Kgabe talked about schools as the place where students can find wisdom, knowledge, skills, hope, aspiration, community, dignity and respect. She reminded us of the words of Jesus “I have come that they might have life and have it in all its fullness” (John 10:10) and the African word ubuntu meaning “I am because we are.” One of the challenges is the prevalence of child headed households due to parents working in other places, and schools have a role in providing a wholistic education for the children in their care.
At Radford College in our 40th year, we too aim to be an educational community where wisdom, knowledge, skills, hope, aspiration, community, dignity and respect are central to who we are and everything that we do.
Our Anglican Identity provides us with the resources to help us embody and live out these ideals. The College prayer reminds us of the grace and love of God which calls us into relationship with God and with each other.
Great Creator God,
you sing the world into life and fill it with love
binding the things of earth with the Kingdom of Heaven.
Breathe your Spirit over this land,
awaken our senses and fill us with light
that with Christ your Son
we would live in truth
rise in compassion
and walk in wisdom.
Amen
News
By Miss Melinda Hamilton, Teacher
Last Wednesday Radford Kindergarten students went on an excursion to the Australian National Botanic Gardens. We are learning about ‘How the World Works’ with a focus on plants. We wanted to learn about how they grow, what their features are and how seeds travel to other places.
Students were involved in roleplays to learn about how bees pollinate plants, and they planted their own native seed to watch them grow. They also spend time in the Banksia Garden to find out how Australian plants spread their seeds. It was so interesting to learn about some of the native trees that our Radford College Houses are named after. We also got to go on a walk through the gardens, looking at different plants and enjoying the misty rainforest walk.
We really enjoyed our visit and will continue to be botanists during our science explorations in the coming weeks.
Here's what our Kindergarteners had to say about their visit to the Australian National Botanic Gardens:
My favourite part was going in the rainforest because it felt like there were zombies – Angela
My favourite part was my Mum got to come – Felix
My favourite part was taking the photo with the big pretend kangaroo – Harsheen
I liked when we planted seeds. The seeds were really small, but they will grow into a big flower – William
I liked when we saw the flowers and all the banksias. Did you know if you to set the banksias on fire to spread their seeds? Wow! – Maia
I liked when we went down the ramps into the forest because I really liked all the lovely green plants – Celina
My favourite part was going in the rainforest because it was fun and wet – Avery
My favourite part was all of the excursion! – Reuben
By Mrs Annette Carter, College Historian
Radford College has excelled across various disciplines over the years, including Snowsports. In 1984, the inaugural Snowsports cohort demonstrated their skills. Matthew Murtagh clinched victory in two ACT skiing events, followed by an impressive second-place finish in his Australian division. Matthew again placed in 1986 and came third in his class in the Australian championships.
By 1987, we were fielding five teams comprising four students each in the ACT Schools Alpine Championships at Guthega, and four teams competed in both the 1988 and 1989 competitions.
1990 saw 18 Radford students competing in the Championships at Guthega. Notably, the Junior girls’ team advanced to the Australian final and ultimately finished sixth.
We fielded six slalom and two freestyle teams in the 1991 competition. These teams went through to the Australian Interschool Skiing Championships, where Jacqui Phillips was recognised as one of the nation’s top young skiers, securing a spot on the Australian Ski Team. In this same competition, Radford’s Junior girls freestyle team won the National Freestyle event, with Morvern Maclean awarded the Individual Freestyle trophy.
Snowsports athletes have been competing in competitions ever since Radford College opened its doors to students. The dedication, talent, and competitive spirit displayed by these students over the years has helped to inspire the success of future generations of Snowsports athletes.
This year’s Dirrum Dirrum Festival is not to be missed.
Excellent speakers, stalls, live music, food and conversation.
Saturday 17 August from 4pm – 9pm
Mackinnon Senior School at Radford College
Invite your friends and family.
Register here.
