Milestone Events

>   Acacia College Opening Ceremony
>   Acacia College inducts its Foundation Principal
>   Inaugural House Performing Arts Festival
>   College welcomes Indonesian Muslims and Christians

Acacia College inducts its Foundation Principal

Acacia College Foundation Principal, Mr Andrew Houghton, was formally inducted into his position on Thursday, 15 April 2010 at a ceremony held at the Plenty Ranges Arts and Convention Centre.  Attended by College students and staff, parents, Uniting Church dignitaries and invited guests, this was an occasion of great celebration.

During the ceremony Mr Houghton acknowledged the solemn responsibility entrusted to him as Principal of a brand new school. “I will never take for granted the trust placed in me by the Acacia College community and the Uniting Church,” he said. “Together we are striving to build a school and shape a future of which we can all be very proud.”

The Induction Ceremony, presided over by the Moderator of the Uniting Church Synod of Victoria and Tasmania, Ms Isabel Thomson Dobson, was full of symbolism, from the lighting of a Christ Candle at the commencement to the presentation of symbolic gifts to Mr Houghton following his formal induction.

Mr Houghton was clearly delighted to receive an historic school bell, two books of spiritual reflections, and a folder containing photographs of the 124 Acacia College Foundation students. A Prep student also presented him with a tall specimen of the Cinnamon Wattle, an appropriate choice as the unique red flowers of this plant are represented on the College emblem.

The College vocal group performed ‘Ain’t No Mountain High Enough’, and students from Years 1 to 4 sang a blessing song, expressing the meaning of the song through gestures as well as words and music.

Concluding his address, Mr Houghton had a special message for his students, taken from Christopher Robin’s words of encouragement to his friend Pooh Bear: “Promise me you’ll always remember: you are braver than you believe and stronger than you seem and smarter than you think.”

Inaugural House Performing Arts Festival

Thursday 5 August 2010 was one of the most exciting days in the life of our students and staff this year. The House Performing Arts Festival is the signature event of the annual House calendar, with each House striving towards the ultimate goal – winning the House Performing Arts Trophy!

Each House prepared two items, a Group Vocal and a Group Dance, and the House compere introduced each segment. Two external judges from Whittlesea Music adjudicated and the criteria for judging were circulated in advance.

Staff and students had several weeks to prepare and rehearse while anticipation and excitement for the big day was steadily building.

The judges were quite overwhelmed with the quality of the performances, not having seen this type of student event at other schools. They commented on the colour and creativity of the costumes and props, the enthusiasm of the singing, the sophistication of the dance moves and choreography, and the amazing entertainment value.

With the performances from each House being so different and creative, the judges had great difficulty determining the eventual winner.

Congratulations to our wonderful staff for assisting the students with their performances.
Congratulations to all our students who played their roles so magnificently.
Congratulations to Red House who won the event on the day!

After such a successful event, the staff and students are already planning for next year’s Festival, with new ideas taking shape. The competitive urge has certainly been stimulated!

College welcomes Indonesian Muslims and Christians

When a delegation of leaders from Christian and Muslim communities in Indonesia recently visited Australia as part of a Uniting Through Faith program run by the Uniting Church, Acacia College’s Indonesian teacher, Ms Sadriani Kerta, and her students were keen to offer them hospitality.

‘This was a wonderful opportunity for our students to learn directly from Indonesian people’, Ms Kerta said.

Acacia College chaplain, Rev Ros McDonald, was equally keen to support the visit. ‘The Uniting Through Faith program aims to make connections between people of different faith backgrounds and it was very special to welcome a group of three Muslims and three Christians from Indonesia who could share their different perspectives with the students.’

The visit to Acacia College took place in 2010 and the students and their guests had a great day together. After an assembly at which the Indonesian delegates were welcomed in their own language and enjoyed an Indonesian song ‘Aku cinta dia’, they visited the classrooms to answer students’ questions and tell them about life in Indonesia. The students had many opportunities to practise speaking in Indonesian and the visitors were impressed with their willingness to experiment with new words and expressions.

Throughout the day the students had opportunities to learn more about Indonesian culture and lifestyle. With the help of their guests, they participated in activities such as Wayang Kulit (shadow puppets) and making Indonesian-style kites, scrolls and scarves.

One of the visitors, Eben, spent time with the Years 5 and 6 students teaching them how to do Batik drawings. Afterwards, two of the students, Jasmine and Tara, said they would never forget the experience.

‘We learnt so much from Eben and he said that he had also learnt a lot from us too,’ they said. ‘We were very sad to see him go, but he gave us all some postcards from different places in Indonesia and told us his address so that we can write to him.’

‘This was a great day of learning on many levels,’ Ms Kerta said. ‘Not only did our students have a valuable opportunity to practice their language skills, they also learnt a lot about breaking down cultural barriers and being open to experiences that are different and new.’

After such a worthwhile experience for all concerned, Acacia College intends to apply again to be a host school for this annual interfaith event.