Staff Insights
By Mr Andy Gordon, Interim Principal
Welcome back to Radford for the last term of our 40th year.
We have a lot to look forward to over the next few months, including the Twilight Fete on 2 November, the Year 12 Graduation on 29 November, and Celebration on the last day of term, 10 December.
One of the highlights of Term 4 happened this morning, when I had the privilege of introducing the 2025 Radford College Prefects in front of the Secondary School students, staff and invited guests.
College Captains: Amber Smith and Lachlan Lloyd
College Vice-Captains: Anvi Gupta and Jeb Jeffery
Sport Prefects: Oliver Luppi and Millah Sullivan
Service Prefects: Madeleine Klegeris and Josh Miller
Performing Arts Prefects: Charlotte Knight and Tim Kopras
Acacia House Prefects: Astrid Kenna and Ernie Hodgkinson
Banksia House Prefects: Alice Abbott and Amelie Brennan
Boronia House Prefects: Owen Toyne and Sascha Hiew
Huon House Prefects: Sophie Wilson and Luka Higgins
Jarrah House Prefects: Lizzie Savio and Neil Grover
Karri House Prefects: Zach Lloyd and Bonnie Hardy
Kurrajong House Prefects: Audrey Potter and Zander Lubiejewski
Wandoo House Prefects: Rowan Harris and Lena Thompson
I got a chance to share with this new group of leaders some valuable advice my dad gave me: Learn how to do everyone's job, but tell no-one.
The intent wasn’t about arrogance, the intent was humility to be able to help or step in, when needed. To make yourself indispensable.
I had two jobs – I worked in a pizza shop from Year 9 through to the end of Uni. I also worked on a cotton farm during the summer holidays.
Learning how to do everybody’s job was an attitude, a spirit, before it became an action.
Leadership titles usually
follow a leadership spirit. With this week being Spirit week for the Year 12's, it’s fitting to talk about spirit.
What we do or don’t do is
always an attitude before it is an action.
Having a leadership title has its challenges. I usually say, a person isn’t ready for a leadership title until they are comfortable with being judged – both fairly and unfairly.
So, I thank people who actually put their hand up and say: I will take a leadership role, I will take the responsibility and share the leadership load in this space, knowing that people will say things about you.
Thank you for doing what you are doing. Thank you for being the leaders that you are, and for your spirit that has led to those titles.
Lead well,
Andy
By Rev. Dr Katherine Rainger, Senior Chaplain
Email is a blessing and a curse. There is truth in the meme “this meeting could have been an email.” At the same time an empty inbox can be an elusive dream.
At the risk of creating more email clutter, I’d like to share a daily email that I’ve signed up to that is giving me a chance to pause and pray with creatives and poets connected with the Iona community. Iona is a small Scottish island with a rich history of creative worship, community and social action.
Here is the link to the Iona community’s “thought for the day” sign-up. Each short daily reflection offers a moment to pause and be blessed by the creativity of a fellow traveller.
An example of a daily reflection is Something Different by Brian Woodcock, from “A Heart for Creation”. This piece provides a vivid image of what it means to make a home:
There was something different about her, this young German with her punk outfit and flowing hair who wandered into the church where I was minister one morning, clutching her boyfriend’s hand. Him we had seen before. He was a local lad – sullen, withdrawn, known to the police, getting by. But she was different.
They hadn’t much money. Or much of anything really. They had been housed by the Council. A tiny flat up two flights of stairs, with a balcony facing the fire station. It wasn’t her punk outfit in the Sunday congregation that made her different. Nor her smile in that fragile partnership. It was the balcony. Her balcony. All the upstairs flats had balconies. They were either empty or used for storage and washing.
But not here. Here, nasturtiums trailed over the railings, tomatoes were starting to blush and canes were in place for the runner beans. Soon there would be lettuces. She was pricking out the seedlings when I called. Despite the concrete landscape, despite the two flights of stairs, here there was contact with the earth and its cycles. And gentle, patient nurture. And faith in the future.
Within our fractured world I wonder where you see signs that point to “faith in the future?” Perhaps an inner-city garden, caring for a child, a loved one, friends, community advocates, and diplomats filled with dismay who continue to speak on behalf for those who have lost everything.
A prayer for the week ahead.
God of grace and hope, fill us with your Spirit
that we might live more fully into that which you have called us to.
Give leaders in the ACT grace and wisdom as they serve our community.
We pray for our world and for an outpouring of peace and justice, healing and hope.
In Jesus’ name,
Amen
News
By Mrs Erica Whitby, Acting Director of Service Learning
During the term break, it was announced that fifty Radford College students in Years 10 and 11 have been named as finalists in Lifeline Canberra’s Spirit of Canberra Awards.
The Spirit of Canberra Awards celebrate, acknowledge and inspire positive change within the Canberra community, recognising the efforts that improve the social, economic, environmental, or cultural well-being of the community.
Across three different programs, our students plan and run art classes, inclusive (wheel-chair accessible) dance classes and games/conversations for residents at the Calvary Haydon Residential Aged Care Home every Friday. In these programs, students build relationships with residents at Calvary, which brings a lot of joy to all involved.
Aged Care is not always an easy place to live, work or volunteer. It is a credit to the students involved that they step out of their comfort zone and put themselves out there in the pursuit of reducing loneliness and social isolation for the residents.
Calvary staff reported back that these programs have a profound impact in helping with depression, anxiety, stress and social isolation experienced by residents who have dementia or are in palliative care. It creates meaning and purpose for residents, learning opportunities for students, and ultimately builds a more cohesive community for all.
Within the Spirit of Canberra Awards, there is an additional People’s Choice Award, which is decided based on the number of votes from members of the public. We would love your support, and hope that as many members of the Radford community as possible would vote for our student volunteers.
Click here to cast your vote for the People’s Choice Award!
Please note, you will need to either vote for an individual on the first page of the voting form, or click ‘next’ at the bottom of the page without voting for an individual, to take you through to voting for an organisation. Radford College is listed on this page. Voting closes this coming Monday, 21 October 2024 and the winners will be announced on Thursday 24 October.
To find out more about the Spirit of Canberra Awards, please visit their website.
Congratulations to everyone involved.
Sporting Achievements
Congratulations to the following Radford College students who have gained selection in a 2024 SSACT representative team:
Zoe O’Rourke (Year 7, Huon) – 12&U Cricket Girls Team
Gus Bennett (Year 7, Wandoo) – 12&U Cricket Boys Team
Congratulations also to the following Radford College students who won the Basketball ACT MVP Award for their age groups for the 2024 Winter Basketball Junior Premier League Season:
Marcus Te Moananui (Year 6, Karri) – U12 Boys
Poppy Smith (Year 9, Wandoo) – U16 Girls
Hamish O’Sullivan (Year 9, Acacia) – U16 Boys
Radford hosts St Monica’s College Epping
During Week 2 of the school holidays, Radford College had the pleasure of hosting Year 7 basketball and netball teams from St Monica’s College Epping, Melbourne.
This event offered a fantastic opportunity for our students to compete against interstate teams of similar ability, ensuring exciting and high-level competition. The St Monica's tour group were particularly impressed with Radford's exceptional sports facilities.
Radford has already established strong cricket connections with Barker College and Newington College in Sydney, and now, through events like these, we are creating further inter-school opportunities for our basketball and netball programs as well.
Radford Summer Sports Pre-Season Camps
Radford’s cricketers and rowers have been busy throughout the school holidays, preparing, practicing, and refining their skills and team cohesiveness.
Our rowers and coxes started their days early, making the most of the pristine conditions on Lake Burley Griffin. Meanwhile, our cricketers took full advantage of Radford’s beautifully groomed ovals and the state-of-the-art Boorer Family Cricket Centre, honing their skills under the guidance of our coaching staff.
Let’s not forget our futsal teams! Our Year 4 Boys Team trained extensively throughout the holidays, even playing trial matches as part of their preparation for the 2024 Australian Futsal Association (AFA) Champion of Champions Futsal Tournament in Brisbane next month.
We are excited to see all Radford students hitting the fields, water, and courts as the summer sports season begins!
The rain on the first day of school didn't deter students from immediately trying out the new Pavilion Playground that was completed over the school holidays.
This playground, that is open to all students, was built to replace the former Year 5/6 playground that was removed as part of the plan to construct the Collegians Centre. This new playground provides students with a range of activities to improve fitness, strength, and agility, in addition to general play.
Here's what some of our students had to say about it:
"I really like it and there is lots of things to do" – Chloe
"It has a really big slide which is super fun for everyone to go on" – Violet
"It's really big and has different things to do" – Prisha
There are two aspects to this new playground, explains Mr Andy Gordon, Interim Principal. "Our co-curricular program focusses mainly on lower-body strength, so the section on the left will focus on improving upper-body strength through play. The section on the right is intended for social play."
