Primary Highlights

One of my favourite parts of being the Head of Primary is interviewing prospective students and families who want to come to Genesis, and we are just about to enter into a season of interviewing our future Prep students for 2022. We are really blessed in our school in that we have a significant number of applications for positions and choosing students to come can be really hard!

Truthfully, I just love meeting young people, hearing their stories, what they love about school, and what their hopes for the future are. It is so inspiring, that I often come out of interviews, wanting to come back to school myself!

One of the big topics of conversation in interviews is reputation. It is abundantly clear to me that Genesis Christian College has an exceptionally high reputation in our local community for being THE school of choice: many would say the pick of schools on the north side of Brisbane.

This makes me delve deeper into “why” Genesis has this reputation, and it all comes back to our culture and the heritage of who we are as a community.

As a distinctly Christian school, we hold a set of core beliefs. Many schools will say they have “values” or things they aspire too; but at Genesis our core beliefs undergird everything we do. It is from our biblical view of the world, that our values are formed, and from these values our expectations and actions. In other words, we are inspired by, and guided by the word of God in all that we do.

I often say to families when we meet, that Genesis has exceptionally high expectations on behaviour, and we follow through on this. We don’t just value good behaviours, but really believe that certain ways of acting are Godly and wholesome. And so, our classrooms and playing fields have a sense of order, and our students carry themselves with a sense of dignity, and pride in our school culture.

In our school, this translates into excellence in teaching and learning, and students’ results. We set the bar high, and students rigorously work hard to achieve their potential. This is part of our culture, and part of what makes Genesis Christian College, such a great school.

Another aspect of our College which radiates excellence is our co-curricular programs. Genesis sets the bar high for students in Music, Dance, Drama, Sports, and Service areas. I had the privilege of attending the Primary Music camp on the weekend and listen to our music ensembles rehearse together. What a joy it was to see such enthusiasm and teamwork with staff and students. This joy in community came through in the beautiful sounds the children made when performing together. An old mentor of mine would often use the phrase “Excellence through Community” when describing how we get the best work out of students and each other.

In essence, we do better individually when we are part of something greater than ourselves. This is something I would encourage all parents to get their children involved in; co-curricular activities which promote teamwork and the common purpose of working together, in music, arts, sports or service areas. The life skills this encourages in our children will influence their schoolwork, and ultimately their purpose, direction, and later success in life.

Yours sincerely,

Jeremy Williamson

Head of School – Primary