Staff Insights
By Brad Cooney, Deputy Principal and Head of Secondary School
It is with great pride and excitement that I join Radford College as your new Deputy Principal and Head of Secondary School. I look forward to partnering with you to ensure all students in the Secondary School are celebrated and supported on their learning journeys. Together, we will ensure that we maintain our tradition of excellence and strong sense of community that make Radford such a special place.
2023 marks my 24th year in education. As an educator, I am driven by the individual development and growth of every student. I have devoted my career to educating, inspiring and advocating for students, both as a classroom teacher and as an experienced Secondary School Principal. I am excited to bring my passion, enthusiasm and experience to cultivate the unique educational and co-curricular programs that Radford has to offer. Above all, I am willing to observe, listen, learn, and understand what makes Radford College thrive as a leading learning organisation in the nation’s capital.
At our whole-of-school Commencement Service on Tuesday, 31 January, our College Prefects introduced our theme for 2023: ‘Be brave and try everything’.
Encouraging bravery and trying new things at school can be a great way to help our students grow and develop, both academically and socially. At Radford, we provide a supportive and safe environment that allows students to undertake appropriate risks and challenges. This includes encouraging students to step out of their comfort zones on camp, try new co-curricular activities and engage in hands-on practical learning experiences.
I would encourage all students and Secondary School staff to be brave and try something new this year. From sports and arts to science and technology, there is something on offer for everyone.
Effective communication between the College and home is a vital tool in ensuring the success of every student in the Secondary School. For this reason, it is imperative that if you alter your email address or your contact details, you advise the College as soon as practical of these changes so that your records can be updated. Our key communication medium is through the School’s Learning Management System (LMS), Nexus. Nexus contains regular practical information, the College calendar, excursion notes/details and academic reports, etc. Parents are encouraged to regularly check Nexus for updates and to check the contemporary and relevant information contained therein.
I extend a special thank you to our parent community for your ongoing support and for entrusting your young people to the care of Radford College. Your involvement and engagement are invaluable to the success of our students, and I look forward to continuing this productive partnership throughout 2023.
I heartily welcome your conversation and positive input throughout this year. Let us always keep our young people at the heart of all that we do and the primary focus of our work.
As we begin this new chapter, I look forward to working in partnership alongside our wonderful students, parents and staff. Should you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact me, either by phone on (02) 61626211 or via email at Bradley.cooney@radford.act.edu.au
By Associate Chaplain Andy Fleming
Jesus’ parable of the Good Samaritan was told at the Junior and Secondary School Commencement Chapels last week. This parable was originally told by Jesus to a lawyer who was testing him. The lawyer knew the most important laws were to love God and love his neighbour as he would himself. However, the lawyer showed less of an understanding about who to apply these laws to by asking Jesus, "Who is my neighbour?".
In the story of the Good Samaritan, Jesus provides no reason for the actions of the priest and the Levite, who was an assistant at the temple, walking past the injured man. It would have been outrageous to those listening that a priest and Levite would be singled out as not fulfilling the law properly. Even more so that a samaritan - among the most disliked and socially outcast group in Israel - is the one who offers assistance. It appears that there was a need for a change in attitude for the Israelites about who their neighbour was. Naturally, the lawyer correctly identifies the samaritan as the one of the three who acted like a neighbour. Jesus’ challenge to “go and do likewise” rings true for us as much as it did for the lawyer.
Go and do likewise is a provocative invitation to go and care for those under duress, the down trodden and those living on the margins of our society. Our students have many opportunities through programs in our College, such as Service Learning, Round Square and Radford Tribal Council, to be neighbours to those less fortunate than ourselves. Go and do likewise can also be a much simpler invitation. You see our neighbours are also among the Radford community. They are everyone at College celebrations, supporting your child’s sporting teams and performing arts groups, and those next to you in the pick-up lines. Our constant challenge is to show love, compassion and mercy to all people in our community.
Eden Canoes project
At the end of last year, Mr Corbett, Mrs Whitby and I accompanied eleven students to Eden to participate in the Eden Canoes project. For participating students, the project is a practical opportunity to be immersed in the cultural experience of building wooden canoes, which grows their confidence and teamwork skills and gives them a greater cultural awareness. We were privileged to be the first residential program for Eden Canoes. The students learnt so much about the culture and the lives of the local First Nations peoples through spending time with Indigenous mentors on Country. As representatives of Radford, I couldn’t be prouder of the students' efforts and attitudes towards being part of our wider community.
May you all be blessed with courage to love your neighbours.
News
I usually say, “Week 1, we’ve just begun… Week 2, nothing new… Week 3, it’s all about me…” The rhymes can go on.
The main point being, even the way the weeks roll on follow a similar pattern. Just as our energy levels combine with our personalities and habits, resulting sometimes in amazing things and sometimes in chaos. On the journey to being a more honest, loving teacher and leader, I ground myself in the things below.
Some things to remember as we start the year:
- Every child is unique.
- All small steps of growth are a cause for celebration.
- We learn from our mistakes.
- We are a long time grown up.
- Childhood is not a race.
- Children learn at different rates and in different ways.
When I think about what are the really important things that support learning at home, I know these things to be true:
- We get better at reading by reading.
- We get better at writing by writing.
- We get better at crunching numbers by crunching numbers.
We are really excited about this year. Our incredible teachers, learners and resources empower us to be creators and curators that will make the world a better and more peaceful place.
By Dianne Wilson, Sports Operations Manager
Futsal
Congratulations to the following students who represented Capital Football at the Football Australia National Futsal Championships in Melbourne in January:
- Frieda Cookson
- Michael Lo Pilato
- Steven Maglasis
Michael and Steven’s team finished as runners up.
Congratulations to the following students who represented ACT Futsal at the Australian Futsal Association Nationals in Sydney in January:
- Isla Murphy
- Caitie Checksfield
- Cameron Terry
- Callum Baran
Isla and Callum were selected in the Australian All Stars teams for their age groups. Cameron played in the Youth Men’s U19 team, alongside Radford Class of 2021 students Cooper Terry, Tom Langworthy, Jake Hart and Orlando Jeffery.
Netball
Congratulations to Sarah Rogic who has been nominated for a 2022 School Sport ACT Excellence in Sport Award by her 12&U State Netball coach for the Sportsmanship Category. The top four nominations will receive an invitation to attend the Awards Ceremony where they will be acknowledged and a winner will be announced by Minister Yvette Berry.
Basketball
Over the weekend, Basketball Australia hosted an Association Coach (Level 4) Accreditation Course at the Australian Institute of Sport. In attendance were several well-known club and representative coaches from across the ACT.
As part of their accreditation, these coaches completed an on-court assessment session with U16/U19 basketball players. Radford College would like to thank the following players for their involvement in said assessments:
- Poppy Smith
- Heidi Rankin
- Sarah Rogic
- Kaitlin Barsby
- Kaiya Barsby
- Jack Dimond
- Max Dimond
- Ambrose Musgrove
- Simon Wu
- William Bott
- Aayush Bhatia
Cricket
The Radford Navy vs Maroon Stage 3 Div 1 ‘grudge match’ was the feature event of the weekend. In a low-scoring thriller, Navy emerged victorious with Jack Dunn hitting the winning runs off the second-last ball after Rudra Rathod played a match-winning cameo as number 8.
The Sixers, Stars and Scorchers continued on their winning ways in Stage 2; as did the Raiders in Stage 3. Special mention to Raiders Captain, Will Harrison, who scored 57 off 40 balls.
The First XI had a convincing win over Ginninderra on Sunday, with Luke Davis notching up his first fifty for the First XI.
Football Refereeing
Capital Football has significantly increased referee payments (as much as 50 per cent in some age groups) for the 2023 season. You can now earn up to $70 refereeing Junior League games. Parents and students are encouraged to consider refereeing, which is also a great way to develop life skills and keep fit.
Those who commit to refereeing at Radford will also have the cost of the course and registration and half the cost of the uniform and equipment reimbursed.
Check out the Capital Football website for further information and upcoming courses, including online and female-only course options starting as soon as early February. The Level 4 course is recommended.
Contact Dianne.Wilson@radford.act.edu.au once you have completed a course to be appointed to games.
Please note – Radford Sport does not get officially notified by SSACT nor ACT-based associations when a student is selected in a representative team. This information is publicised on the SSACT Facebook page, the State Sporting Association websites, or needs to be provided by the student or parent to CCSports@radford.act.edu.au to be celebrated.
By Joe Martin and Rena Cao, Y11 IBDP students
Only three days into the new school year, Year 11 International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme (IBDP) students journeyed out to Murrumbateman’s Warrambui Retreat and Conference Centre to begin their retreat.
The retreat set out to introduce students to the ins-and-outs of the IBDP and allow meaningful connections to form between students.
Through games, challenges and presentations, the IBDP retreat was effective in allowing students to build worthwhile relationships. The Year 11s participated in activities ranging from frisbee golf to our very own Master Chef challenge, all of which required teamwork skills as excelling in collaboration is a key part of the IBDP.
Fellow Year 12 IBDP students also came along to provide tips, tricks and new perspectives on the adventure Year 11 IBDP students are about to pursue.
Overall, the retreat allowed students to gain a more concrete understanding about what the following two-year program will entail and develop a real sense of community among this cohort of IBDP students.
