23 March 2018
I have been reading Pasi Sahlberg’s “Finnish Lessons 2.0 “ (updated in 2015 from the first edition of 2011). In this book, Sahlberg (who is now a visiting Professor at the University of NSW) argues...
Read more >
02 March 2018
The Report card on Australian Children and Youth was released this week and it revealed a mixed bag of results, including an increase of high or very high psychological stress levels amongst Austra...
Read more >
16 January 2018
I hope you are enjoying a wonderful January break. There are still a few days left. Enjoy them! It is almost impossible to avoid the “Back to School” TV advertisements carefully placed during endl...
Read more >
07 December 2017
This is my final blog greeting of the year. I want to thank everyone who has taken the time to read my reflections and stay in touch with the School.
Read more >
02 November 2017
Amidst the busy events of fourth term, our Middle School and Year 10 students will be sitting their annual examinations. This is a really important time for them to be able to show the progress the...
Read more >
18 October 2017
I asked Philip Mundy, Head of History at Barker College, to offer some comments on the current debate over statues and monuments in public places. How should we see these things through contemporar...
Read more >
13 October 2017
“The modern world does not reward you for what you know, but for what you can do with what you know."
Read more >
21 September 2017
“There is a time in life when you expect the world to be always full of new things. And then comes a day when you realise that is not how it will be at all. You see that life will become a thing ma...
Read more >
09 September 2017
Amongst the many debates presently swirling around the marketplace of ideas in education is the role of NAPLAN in providing evidence of attainment of a minimum standard of educational attainment.
Read more >
14 August 2017
The author, Jean Twenge, argues that the world of our children and adolescents is dramatically and probably irreversibly changing. It certainly got me thinking again.
Read more >
04 August 2017
We place a high value on Outdoor Education, and on the opportunities that a carefully planned and graded Outdoor Education experience can provide for the personal, spiritual and social development ...
Read more >
21 July 2017
During the break, I was able to travel to the South Coast for a week, enjoying the magnificent setting, the sublime weather and the time to refresh my mind and spirit.
Read more >
26 June 2017
We need to take the little moments in our lives as special gifts not to be wasted. The end of sem...
Read more >
09 June 2017
How do we take the countless good things that are happening and make those (small) adjustments to...
Read more >
02 June 2017
Our own Darkinjung Barker project allows us, in a small way, to create a new space – one where we...
Read more >
24 May 2017
If it is possible to imagine the future, it will make planning a great deal easier. Where are thi...
Read more >
19 May 2017
The mental health and wellbeing of our students does not occur in a vacuum. Barker students are s...
Read more >
10 March 2017
As the apostle Paul wrote to the Christian community in Philippi, “Do not be anxious about anythi...
Read more >
24 February 2017
Over the past few years, we have been steadily developing our strategies to ensure that the Schoo...
Read more >
10 February 2017
As we build the momentum in our schools in a new academic year, for the sake of all teachers and ...
Read more >
11 January 2017
Some thoughts offered to students as they commence the new year.
Read more >