Thank you to all our students and staff for all their efforts to bring together a very successful Year 7 2018 Information Evening. The night was extremely well attended by our current Year 6 families as well as a significant number of new families who are considering enrolment at EAC. It was a wonderful showcase of the variety of learning opportunities that are available at the College. Our future Year 7s and their families were able to sample some scrumptious morsels from of Hospitality and Food Technology students, undertake the Physical Education fitness challenge, participate in a number of Science experiments, see some of our Drama and Music students rehearsing and improvising and take on the brain teasers and puzzles on offer in the Mathematics room. One of the highlights was seeing some of the new technology that is being incorporated into student learning which included EV3 Robots, Microbits, Spheros, 3D Printing and virtual reality headsets 'The Oculus Rift'. There were also many other displays and demonstrations of student learning and I was really proud to welcome the new families and have our Secondary Leaders show them around. Those that were new to the College were very impressed with the students, the facilities and the programs on offer but by far the most common compliment was how welcome they felt and how much the students clearly loved their school and enjoyed their learning. That is a great tribute to everyone involved with the College.

Happy Mothers’ Day to all our mums and grandmothers! I hope you all had a wonderful day. A huge thank you to the ‘Friends of EAC’ for organising a special Mothers’ Day morning tea last Friday morning. Unfortunately, I was in Grafton for a Diocesan Principal’s meeting and was not able to attend, however, all of the reports about the gathering have been very positive and that a large number of mums were in attendance.  Thank you to the Friends team and to all the parents who provided cakes and other goodies on the day.

One of the highlights of the term took place on Friday when our students were privileged to enjoy a special performance by The Royal Australian Navy Band. The 30 piece concert band attended in response to the invitation of Mrs Sonya Lopes who is one of the College’s music tutors and a former member of band.  The band performed a broad repertoire of songs that showcased the skill and proficiency of all its members. The performance was extremely professional and greatly appreciated by all in attendance. As part of the visit, The Royal Australian Navy Band members were involved in workshops with students who later had the opportunity to perform with the band. For our own musicians it was a fantastic opportunity to see the potential that lies ahead of them if they continue to develop their instrumental skills and capacity to play as part of a band.

It has been a very busy and rewarding time for the members of our College Band Program who recently performed at the opening of regional conference of the Rotary Association and the Parish of St Bart’ Mothers’ day fete. Each time any of our bands performs, I am amazed at the depth of talent and the growth in their confidence and proficiency as musicians. The students clearly are enjoying the opportunity to perform and play together. I wish to congratulate and thank Mr Adam Holmes and Mr Justin Cleverly for the incredible energy they bring to the program and their vision for music and band. I also wish to thank the music tutor team who work with all our budding musicians and help them build their skill and a love of music. It is an incredible program that continues to provide great outcomes for our students.

Congratulation to Maddyson Lloyd of Year 11 who placed second at the NSW All Schools Swimming Championship in her Multi Category class and has been selected in the NSW Team for the Pacific School Games. Congratulations also to Kalani Franklin of Year 4 who was selected in the NSW CIS Primary Hockey team. This is an outstanding achievement as he was competing for selection against student who were up to 3 years older than him. Well done to Maddyson and Kalani!

Finally, College Captains Ella Webb and Kyle Underwood were invited to attend a leadership day conducted at NSW Parliament House, as part of the Secondary Student Leadership Program.  Year 12 student leaders from all NSW secondary schools attended and also visited Government House to meet the Governor of NSW, His Excellency General The Honourable David Hurley AC DSC (Ret’d).

Mr Robert Tobias
Principal