Head of College - Mr Richard Ford
As Term 1 ends today, we look ahead to the holidays and to the first part of Term 2.
Over the Easter Weekend, families local to Bathurst are warmly invited to attend services being held at Bathurst Presbyterian Church on Good Friday (at 9:00am) and Easter Sunday (at 9:00am, 10:30am and 6:00pm).
On the first Saturday of the holidays, 24 students will head off on the European History Study Tour. I am sure the trip will help to transform the lens through which they look at several ancient and modern sites, and I thank the staff who have helped to provide this opportunity.
On the first Saturday back next term, a number of students will be involved in their local ANZAC Day events. In Bathurst, students who would like to be involved in the march are welcome to come along to Bathurst RSL with their family and are asked to wear their formal winter College uniform.
Also worth putting in your calendar for May are the following events:
- Saturday 2 May – Bathurst Show, where you will be able to watch the College’s Cattle Team in action and Junior School art on display;
- Sunday 3 May – Bathurst Highland Festival at the Senior School, where our Pipes and Drums Band, along with our Highland Dancers, will be competing;
- Thursday 7 May – Junior School Mother’s Day Breakfast; and
- Friday 8 May – Senior School Mother’s Day Breakfast.
This morning, it has been great to see the Cattle Team competing at Sydney Royal. Full details about the Team’s time at Sydney Royal will be shared next term.
Back in Bathurst, Junior School students and families have today been involved in the annual Easter Hat Parade and Easter Service, which was a good reminder of the reason for the holidays we are about to enjoy.
For all families, I do hope that this Easter holiday brings with it a time of rest and reflection on Jesus, whose death for us and the certain hope that comes from Jesus’ resurrection. I look forward to seeing students return well rested on Tuesday 21 April.
Farewell Mr Adams
Yesterday, it was a great privilege to be able to share some brief words about Mr Adams as we farewelled him after 22 years of service to the College. There are four observations that I made about Mr Adams.
The first observation was that Mr Adams has a servant heart. Mr Adams has always been willing to roll up his sleeves and help out in whatever way is needed. If a team needed coaching, if a pitch needed preparing, if a staff member needed help moving house, Mr Adams has never been shy of pitching in and doing whatever needed to be done to assist, regardless of the time of day or night it might be.
When travelling with students in Japan last year, I will always remember Mr Adams heading to a local laundry a few blocks from our hotel. At close to midnight, Mr Adams ventured out, found the laundromat and patiently washed, dried and folded 70 shirts so students would have fresh clothing the next morning. Mr Adams saw a need and did something about it.
Similarly, last year, Mr Adams formed a small but dedicated Tree Club. Under his leadership, students installed countless tree rings around some of our younger trees to give them a better chance of getting established. This was not something Mr Adams had to do. It is just one of many examples of where Mr Adams saw a need, and he walked towards it. Mr Adams, thank you for modelling to us what it means to have a servant heart.
The second observation I made was that Mr Adams has a multitude of talents. One way this is clearly evident is by the number of different roles which Mr Adams has held during his time at the College. Mr Adams has served as a: Sportsmaster; Head of PDHPE; Director of Co-curricular; Acting Deputy Head; and Head of Senior School. Outside of school, Mr Adams is one of the most accomplished golfers in Bathurst. There is not a single staff member or student who could beat him at the game, but he would never tell you that.
Time and again, I have been amazed at how Mr Adams can swing in and do pretty much anything. Whether it is learning Japanese for our tour together last year or picking up a table tennis paddle and holding his own, Mr Adams is incredibly multi-talented.
My third observation was that Mr Adams has, day in and day out, humbly sought to do what is best for countless students. There are many leaders who like to shine a light on themselves. That has never been Mr Adams’ focus. His focus has always been on helping the students around him to shine brightly.
Over recent years, in his role as Head of Senior School, this often involves speaking to students about aspects of their life where growing maturity is needed. These are not conversations that people necessarily want to have, but they are important conversations that have the potential to help bring about growth for students.
Humbly, quietly and without fanfare, Mr Adams has got on and had these conversations and reliably, day in and day out, put in the hard work that is required of a Head of Senior School. He has done this hard work humbly and with a desire to see countless students become the best that they can be. Let me encourage any current or aspiring leaders to follow Mr Adams’ example of humble leadership.
Fourthly and lastly, I have always found Mr Adams to be someone who is ever grateful and appreciative of the work of others and the good gifts God has given him.
When you travel overseas with a colleague, as Mr Adams and I did last year, you get to see each other at your most tired and potentially at your worst.
The whole way through, no matter how exhausted we were, Mr Adams regularly expressed gratitude to different people, in words and deed whether they were students, staff or people we met along the way.
This outlook on life is something which I know Mr Adams has intentionally worked at developing over the years in his own life, and I know that he is equally keen to see students grow in gratitude as well.
The gratitude for life and others that Mr Adams lives and breathes is something I greatly admire and want to personally seek to better emulate. His tireless work to encourage a spirit of thankfulness here at the Senior School will undoubtedly be a hallmark of his significant legacy.
It has been a joy and a privilege to serve with Mr Adams and, together with staff, I am most thankful for his humble and capable service to this College. We look forward to seeing Mr Adams back at the College in the years ahead and wish him well as he starts this new chapter of life.
Mr Richard Ford
Head of College
