Principal's Reflection - 8 August

Educating the Whole Child

Those parents and carers who have heard me speak at an information night, or who have been interviewed by me when their child first joined St Luke’s, will likely recall me talking about how a significant goal of St Luke’s is to educate the whole child. This is a recognition that there are many, many aspects that make up a St Luke’s education. Anglican schools are unashamedly academic schools where we aim to develop intellect, curiosity, critical and philosophical thinking, and problem-solving skills. However, cognition is only one part of what makes a person. This is why St Luke’s has always prided itself on all the other opportunities we make available to students, and the development that these opportunities provide. Archbishop Jeremy Greaves noted this in his Term 3 message to students. I was thinking about everything that has occurred in the life of the School since the start of Term 3; it is a lot, and so I started to make a list. In the past four weeks alone, we have had students participate in:

• The DORCAS Soup Kitchen and Soup Kitchen barbeque 

• Bands, orchestras, ensembles and choirs of all sorts

• Out of the Box Theatre

• The Ecoman student workshop

• Cheer

• Eco Champions

• Baptism and First Holy Communion

• The Wide Bay Futsal Championships

• Individual eisteddfod

• Group eisteddfod

• School leader and student representative meetings

• Student focus groups

• The All Schools Oztag Championships

• The Anglican Schools Commission Student Forum

• Friday afternoon BDPSS Sports

• Wednesday afternoon BDSSS Sports

• Rowing Lead Up Regatta

• Stop Motion Club

• Afterschool activities: Scouts, Softball, Yoga, F1 Club, Gymnastics, Robotics and Chess

• Quota Student of the Year

• Tech Ninjas

• Canva Club

• BDSSS Track and Field

• BDPSS Track and Field

It is an amazing array of opportunities, and if you look through this list, you can see those things that St Luke’s focuses on—academics, sport, cultural activities, innovation, faith and service. Not only do these things provide the opportunities students need to develop every part of their being, but they are also very likely to be the things that students will remember the most when they leave school, because they build connections. Everyone seeks community, and what we know about young people is that when they cannot find it, they often seek to create it for themselves. The aspects of school life that exist outside the classroom can be part of that community making. I would strongly encourage all students to be part of something more than classroom learning. 

Thank you for your ongoing support of our School.

Mr Matthew Hughes

Principal