BRINDY NEWS
YOUR WHOLE COLLEGE NEWSLETTER
Volume 005 2 May, 2025
Message from our Principal
Content
Dear Brindabella Parents,
College News
Welcome back to Term 2. I hope everyone had a restful holiday and that you
are getting ready for the cooler months ahead. As this is my first winter in
Junior School
Canberra, I approach the coming months with trepidation. Over the last few Middle School
weeks, we have celebrated Easter. Easter reminds us of the servant leadership
and sacrificial love of Jesus as he died and was resurrected enabling us to be Senior School
in fellowship with God. Such occasions are an opportunity for us to reflect on
God’s love for us. Advertising
“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.” John 3:16
We have also had the opportunity to commemorate ANZAC Day. This is a poignant reminder of those who work in
our defence forces as they serve our country and make many sacrifices in doing so. I’d like to take this opportunity
to recognise those in our community who are in the Defence Force and thank them for ensuring that we live in a
safe country.
[Link] [Link]/BrindabellaChristianCollege 1
[Link]/brindabella_christian_college
PRINCIPAL’S MESSAGE
By now, you are aware that we are in the final stages of consultation with Christian Community Ministries (CCM)
as our preferred new proprietor. CCM currently operate 14 Christian schools across Australia, with half of them
going through a similar situation as Brindabella. This week, we had the opportunity to meet with them and feel
blessed that they felt called to be involved with us. Over the coming weeks, further information will be
forthcoming regarding the way forward.
The term ahead promises to be very busy and it would be worthwhile marking the following dates in
your calendar.
SCHOOL PHOTOS
School photos will be done next week Wednesday 7th May and Thursday 8th May. The full winter uniform is to be
worn for photos. Please make sure that your children’s uniform is correct, with shoes polished.
UNIFORM
Full winter school uniform is to be worn from next week Monday 5th May.
Our uniform policy can be found here: [Link]/community/uniform
MOTHER’S DAY TREAT
All our Brindy mums are invited to a special Mother’s Day Treat. Come and enjoy a delicious hot drink made by
the baristas from Bean Culture, take a photo with your child/children, and enjoy a little time out before your day
starts. Please RSVP so we can secure your spot - [Link]
OPEN NIGHT
You are invited to our annual College Open Night & Careers Expo on the 15th May at 6pm. The evening has
a focus on Middle School (Years 5-8) and Senior School (Years 9-12). There will be a tour of our campus,
information sessions, faculty information booths, university information booths and so much more.
Click on the link to book your spot [Link]
I look forward to seeing you at Brindy over the coming weeks.
Yours in Christ
Peter Reuben
Principal
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CENTRAL
WHOLE COLLEGE NEWS
BRINDY SPOTLIGHT
We’d like to congratulate Mr Daniel Choi for graduating with a Master of Primary Teaching!
Mr Choi has been at Brindabella for the past two and a half years in various roles.
Starting in OSHC (Out of School Hours Care) and then as a Learning Support Assistant,
Mr Choi is now working as a full-time classroom teacher for Year 6 as well as teaching
Music to Year 5 students.
“It’s been such a rewarding journey, and stepping into this next chapter as a teacher fills
me with excitement and gratitude. I want to sincerely thank everyone who has supported
me along the way—from my time in OSHC, to LSA, and now as a teacher.”
Our students are truly blessed to have such a wonderful and talented teacher.
We are blessed with so many talented and amazing students in our College, from budding musicians, champion chess players,
maths geniuses, award winning Lego masters to amazing sportsmen and women. We would love to celebrate their
achievements and ask you to please share your child’s successes with us so that we can shine a light on their accomplishments,
and share them with our Brindy family. Please email us at bcc@[Link].
SCHOOLTV
At Brindabella Christian College we are committed to supporting the wellbeing of our students and their families.
SchoolTV is an excellent resource designed to provide credible information and practical strategies on a range of topics
affecting young people today. From managing stress and building resilience to navigating social media and mental health,
SchoolTV offers expert insights to help families support their child's wellbeing journey.
We encourage parents and caregivers to explore the latest resources available.
Visit [Link] to learn more.
This weeks topic is Positive Parenting: [Link]
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CENTRAL
JUNIOR SCHOOL NEWS
Hello dear parents and friends and welcome back for Term Two!
I hope you have had a lovely holiday and shared in the joy accompanying the Resurrection story. Term Two
is off to an exciting start, with our new Norwest students and teachers beginning at Junior School Central.
We wish them much joy, friendship and wonderful learning opportunities, as they grow in faith and wisdom
at our school. We had a very moving ANZAC Day remembrance on Tuesday and have been practicing cheers
for our Junior School Cross Country Carnival being held this Friday, at BCC. This is just the start of many
exciting events happening for our students in the Junior School.
NORWEST VISIT
We were very happy to host our Norwest teachers and students for a day on Wednesday the 9th of April.
Students took part in fun activities with the classes and had time meeting their classmates and teachers.
We wish them all well as they join our JS Central School family.
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CENTRAL - JUNIOR SCHOOL
ACT PRIMARY SCHOOLS GIRLS CHESS CHAMPIONSHIP
Congratulations to our Brindabella Girls team for tying for second place at the 2025 ACT Primary Schools Girls Chess
Championship. It was a very close event with Canberra Girls Grammar School finishing on 21.5/28 to take first place and
Rosary Primary and Brindabella Christian College tying for 2nd place on 21/28.
It was an enjoyable day of chess, with 97 enthusiastic chess players taking part. The event was hosted by Rosary Primary School,
who did a fantastic job of welcoming so many new chess players to the competition.
We are very proud of our ten students from Year 3 to Year 6 who took part in this event: Echo Feng, Amoda Weldonlage,
Zoe Murdoch and Serena Shi (our top placegetters), Vanshika Vishwanath, Ellie Buchanan, Prisha Roychaudhury, Ella Town,
Peyton Bryant and Viha Kota. The students, some new to playing in a chess competition, were great competitors and had a
great attitude throughout the day. We hope to see these girls and more students participate in the next competition on offer
later in the year.
A special thanks to Amy Mao for her support of the girls and this competition.
EASTER CHAPEL
We were so proud of our Junior School Choir who sang so well at our Easter Chapel. It was a lovely service and a great way
to end the term in preparation for Easter. Thanks to Miss Dempster for all her work in helping prepare our choir members
for the day and leading the choir.
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CENTRAL - JUNIOR SCHOOL
EASTER HAT PARADE
To celebrate the joy of Jesus’ Resurrection on Easter Sunday, we held an Easter Hat Parade in the Junior
School on the last day of term, Friday 11th of April. Students were aglitter with colour and wore hats of
all shapes and sizes. Many hats depicted the biblical account of new life and hope found in Jesus.
Thank you, parents, for supporting your child in the creation of these. I hope you enjoyed working on
this family project together.
EASTER EGG CLASS DRAW
All of the students that wore a hat for the Easter Hat Parade had their names put into a draw to
win some chocolate eggs. Congratulations to all of those lucky students.
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CENTRAL - JUNIOR SCHOOL
ANZAC DAY CEREMONY
The Junior School commemorated ANZAC Day with a special ceremony. The Defence students at
Junior School led the event and lay wreaths to commemorate the fallen. Mrs Karyn Ey from the Defence
Force was invited to speak to the students and families. We thank her for giving of her time to share some
of her stories with us.
It was a lovely way to honour our Defence families and acknowledge ANZAC day. Thank you to the K-4
Defence students for participating, to Mrs Penaluna and Mrs Toth for preparing for the event and to all
the Junior School for the reverent way they participated.
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CENTRAL - JUNIOR SCHOOL
YEAR ONE NEWS
The Year One students are progressing with their learning in fun and fantastic ways. In Technology,
the class worked collaboratively to conduct a class survey of eye colours. They then recorded the data
in a tally chart and completed a bar graph of the information.
In Biblical Living, the students created beautiful ‘stained glass’ crosses for their classroom windows to
remind them of Jesus’ great love for them.
May God bless us all as we transition to new opportunities for Brindabella Christian College and continue
on God’s journey for us. I thank all of the parents and staff for their amazing dedication in Term One and
continue to look for their support in making Brindabella a wonderful place to live and learn.
Yours in Christian Education,
Mary-Ann Fraser
Head of Junior School
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CENTRAL
MIDDLE SCHOOL NEWS
Welcome to the beginning of another exciting term. Term 2 is full of learning moments and events
that help establish our Middle School distinctive. As a team we are looking forward to engaging
deeply in academics and looking for ways to engage our students in extra-curricular activities.
Please keep an eye out for information in relation to after-school sports and co-curricular
opportunities that your child may be interested in. Our Middle School council are also developing a
survey to support the development of lunchtime co-curricular opportunities for students in
Middle School.
As we begin the term, I want take a moment to re-introduce our leaders in Middle School and
acknowledge staff success from Term 1.
MIDDLE SCHOOL LEADERSHIP
Over the past six years, the Middle School team has worked on developing a culture of Academic Rigour,
Personal Responsibility and Positive Relationships. As this culture has been developed our Leadership
team has been formed to make sure moments of learning are engaging and processes and procedures
are followed.
This term I want to re-introduce and highlight the incredible effort this leadership team brings each day.
As the Head of Middle School, I am honoured to lead such a dedicated team of staff who support the 3R’s.
Each core class teacher and specialist teacher in Middle School are developing and striving to develop
skills that are responsive to the needs of our community and students. I am excited about the coming term
and the development of our staff.
Our leaders are:
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CENTRAL - MIDDLE SCHOOL
MIDDLE SCHOOL TEACHING AND LEARNING
COORDINATOR – MRS. KELLY GIERKE
MIDDLE SCHOOL WELLBEING COORDINATOR
– MR. DANIEL KIM
YEAR 5 COORDINATOR – MRS. RACHAEL PRICE
YEAR 6 COORDINATOR – MRS. BRIONY TULK
YEAR 7 COORDINATOR – MR. JOSHUA NATHANAEL
YEAR 8 COORDINATOR – MRS. MARELIZE ENGELBRECHT
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CENTRAL - MIDDLE SCHOOL
TEACHER NEWS
MR. DANIEL CHOI
Last term Mr. Daniel Choi was able to take part in the graduation ceremony for his
teaching degree. As a Middle School teacher, Mr Choi has seamlessly integrated his
passion for teaching and supporting students grow. It has been a privilege to
observe Mr. Choi in class and the yard interacting with students and engaging them
in learning. We wish Mr. Choi all the best as he continues to work in Middle School in
what I believe to be one of the most rewarding and fulfilling careers.
MR. DAVID BIRTLES
As teachers, the Australian Government has a set of standards that we must meet.
During our first five to six years of teaching, staff are required to present a portfolio
of work, along with taking part in a rigorous interview to demonstrate meeting
these standards.
It is with great honour that the Middle School team recognise Mr. David Birtles for
his successful completion of this portfolio.
ANZAC GATHERINGS
Upon our return to school, Tuesday saw us celebrate ANZAC Day in our pastoral classes. ANZAC Day is an important
moment on the calendar and this year, we decided to modify our usual whole-school assembly to smaller class
gatherings. As a Defence family member, I loved seeing classes engaged in listening to and leaning into the ANZAC
story. We will return to our whole-school ANZAC assembly next year, however, for 2025, keep an eye out for details
about Remembrance Day coming up later in the year.
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CENTRAL - MIDDLE SCHOOL
KEY DATES TERM 2
Some key dates for Middle School are listed below:
May 7 Year 5 – 6 School Photos
May 8 Year 7-12 School Photos
May 9 Mother’s Day Treat
May 15 Open Night and Careers Expo
May 29 Year 5-12 Athletics Carnival
May 30 Reconciliation Day Assembly
June 11-13 Year 7 Camp
June 18 & 19 Amazing Me
June 19 Year 8 RealTalk Seminar
June 27 Last Day Term 2
In closing, I pray that the coming fortnight will be a blessing to you and your family. As always, should you have
any questions regarding any Middle School issues, please speak to your child’s Pastoral Teacher, Year Coordinator
or myself.
May God bless our community this coming week.
Yours in Christian Education
Stephen Ey
Head of Middle School
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CENTRAL
SENIOR SCHOOL NEWS
Dear Parents, Staff and Students,
Welcome back to Term 2! I hope you have had a refreshing holiday, and that parents, you got to spend some quality
time connecting with your children. Mine was pretty uneventful, just a lot of cycling, exercise, reading, cooking and
sleeping, but just what I needed after a big term!
These holidays, I have been pondering about the irony of a connected world; everything seems more connected
these days, yet loneliness and disconnection is on the rise. Our young people are growing up in this era that you
and I probably did not have to go through, which means their challenges are slightly different. Coupled with a
developing pre-frontal cortex (associated with regulating behaviour, decision-making and reasoning), no wonder
there are so many friendship dramas, anxiety, depression and everything else that comes with such a fast-paced,
information-loaded, lonely world. I have been pondering how I can equip our young people with skills needed for
this ever-changing world. This could mean building up their resilience, connecting with them through listening and
emphasising, challenging them in their worldviews so that they develop critical thinking skills... I also appreciate
that parenting is not easy and that we are all managing how to parent in such a world too!
This term, my team and I look forward to partnering with you in continuing to nurture your child in the values of
Wisdom, Integrity, Service and Excellence. We hold high expectations of them in our college as we believe that these
expectations will help them flourish beyond Brindabella Christian College and into this ever-changing connected
(or could be disconnecting) world.
To help support them, please be reminded of the support services available. Your child has also recently been
emailed this too.
• For subject concerns, students can always reach out to their subject teacher first, and then the Head of Faculty if
there are further issues.
• For wellbeing concerns, they can reach out to their Connect teacher first, year coordinator, wellbeing coordinator
and myself. On this note, I would like to introduce Mrs Helena Northey (helenanorthey@[Link]) as the new
Senior School Wellbeing Coordinator. Mrs Northey has a wealth of experience in supporting young people’s
wellbeing and we believe is a great addition to the wellbeing team.
• The Enrichment and Learning Support team are also working hard to come up with structures to support any
student on an Individualised Learning Plan. If students have an ILP and need support from the ELS team,
they can also seek support from the lovely learning support team of LSAs and LSTs.
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CENTRAL - SENIOR SCHOOL
EASTER SERVICE
We had a wonderful Easter service filled with joy and meaningful reflections ! The event featured a fun play that was
entertaining for the audience but highlighted the true meaning of Easter. In addition to the play, three students shared
heartfelt talks about what Easter means to them, followed by an inspiring message from Mr. Reuben. The junior school
choir also joined the worship band, adding a beautiful musical touch to the celebration.
ANZAC GATHERINGS
On Tuesday, Senior School commemorated ANZAC Day in our Connect classes. Although done slightly different this year,
I enjoyed seeing more student participation in leading in these small class services as different students spoke beautifully
and commemorated the event with respect and solemnity. We will return to our whole-school ANZAC assembly next year,
however, for 2025, keep an eye out for details about Remembrance Day coming up later in the year.
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CENTRAL - SENIOR SCHOOL
REMINDERS
Please note that we are now in Term 2 and that means that students are required to wear their winter uniforms.
Please note that puffer jackets are not part of the uniform and should not be worn at school. They are allowed to be worn to
and from school, but once on school grounds, all puffer jackets should be in lockers.
The winter uniform guide:
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CENTRAL - SENIOR SCHOOL
REMINDERS
All teachers monitor students’ wearing of the uniform. A note from the student’s parent/guardian is required if there is a valid
reason for the student not wearing complete uniform. The note must be signed and dated by their parent/guardian stating:
1. The part of the uniform not being worn
2. The date on which the student is out of uniform
3. A satisfactory reason for being out of uniform.
Students who do not wear the correct uniform and do not have a note from their parent/guardian will have parents notified and
be required to complete a lunchtime reflection time or an after-school detention for repeated incidences.
Some students may be exempt from wearing the full uniform or may be given permission to be able to wear a version of the
uniform under special circumstances, such as a personal injury. The Principal will consider this on a case-by-case basis.
KEY DATES TERM 2
Some key dates for Senior School are listed below:
May 8 Year 7-12 School Photos
May 9 Mother’s Day Treat
May 15 Open Night and Careers Expo
May 29 Year 5-12 Athletics Carnival
May 30 Reconciliation Day Assembly
June 6-8 Year 10 to 12 exams + AST trials
June 19 Year 10 Real Talk Seminar
June 23-27 Year 10/11 Work Experience
June 27 Last Day Term 2
I pray that this term will be a smooth-sailing one, and that we will be able to keep the main focus of educating our young people at the
forefront of our minds.
Partnering with you in Christian education,
Kwan Ling (KL) Ho
Head of Senior School
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