Principal's First Principles

Making It Right The dishwasher has become a battlefield. Not with helmets or sandbags – but with a plate left on the bench, a parent who has asked three times, and a child who has apparently developed sudden, urgent reasons to be elsewhere. “Why can’t you just do the one thing I ask?” asks the exhausted parent. “I will!” comes the reply. And there it is: one of those tiny moments that becomes bigger than it deserves to be. In the parent’s mind, a forgotten plate becomes a question of…

You've pulled up the government’s MySchool portal, scrolled through ATAR averages, and entered the names of high schools with consistently good scores located within a reasonable distance from home onto your spreadsheet. It feels like a solid start – numbers don’t lie! But they also don’t tell the whole story, especially when it comes to academic scores, student populations, and ranking systems such as NAPLAN and ATAR. Not only are there questions about who sat the test and who didn't – there's…

By Clinton Jackson, Senior School Coordinator Years 11 and 12 can be a busy and stressful time as students prepare for assessments and, ultimately, transfer into post-secondary training or employment. It’s tempting to think of these years as being mostly about that pressure, with some social fun along the way. At BAC, we see them as being about far more. The Queensland Adventist Education Framework talks about “flourishing students” and “equipping [them] for a life of eternal purpose.” As…

Over the past two days, I’ve dropped in on lessons led by Cassie Kitani, our restorative practices specialist from Real Schools. One was a Prep session, which she began by walking the group back to their classroom after a music lesson. The children were restless, chatty, and full of energy. Not only did they have a new adult expecting their cooperation, but there was also a group of silent teachers, aides, and school leaders at the back of the room. Cassie introduced herself and focused all of…

She arrived at me@BAC with her arms folded and a firm conviction that nothing would impress her. Every time, there's at least one. “This will be boring,” she told me. “I bet you'll like it,” I said, reassuring her that her opinion would change before she went home.“Right, you’re on!" she said, sceptical. Moments like this remind me that transition is not just about information. It's about transformation... This transition program gives Year 6 students a chance to experience Year 7 on the BAC…

When we look backwards over Australian history, we see significant progress in addressing legal injustices for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. In 1992, the Mabo Decision rejected something called “Terra Nullius,” which claimed that Australia was a “land belonging to no one” before the British arrived. Mabo led to legal acknowledgement of the long-standing laws and rights of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples on Country. Less than 30 years prior to Mabo, Australians…

Watch any toddler for an hour: they crouch down to examine an ant in the grass, they wobble along on uneven ground, they tug on your hand and pull you into their game, complete concentration on their faces as they pour water from one container to another. It looks like simple play, but it’s more than that. It’s the brain busy laying down new neural pathways. Under the surface, the brain is in building mode. As babies and very young children see, hear, touch, smell, taste, move, and interact,…

When we celebrate Mother’s Day at BAC, we hold with care the complexity it entails. Some in our community, like me, have lost their mums, and that loss remains real no matter how many years have passed. Others are mums themselves but are painfully estranged from their own mothers, have walked the road of infertility and adoption, or experienced the grief of a lost pregnancy, baby, or child. And then there are the many caregivers who have stepped into that role for someone else’s child, loving…

You’ve just put your four-year-old to bed, and a decision is weighing on your mind. Settling into a comfy spot on the lounge, you type into the search bar: “Best Prep Brisbane.” You feel the pressure to get this right. Most parents looking for a Prep don’t just pick the nearest primary school and hope for the best. They explore websites, talk to other parents, attend open days and tours, and book time with school principals. Parents wanting a particular “fit” – a values or faith-based Prep, for…