Giinagay - Waaru Yarrang Ngiinda Ngaya Yamm Mr Johnstone. Welcome to the 28th annual Primary Presentation Ceremony. 

I wish to acknowledge and welcome our Chair of the College Council, Mr David Ford, Council members, members of our P&F executive, staff, parents and carers, grandparents, friends and especially students of Bishop Druitt College both here and online, it is my pleasure to address you today at this wonderful event that reflects upon and celebrates our 2021 school year.

The purpose of today’s Principal’s Address is to convey my pride in you and our college. Bishop Druitt College is a fantastic place, filled with amazing teachers, teacher aides and support staff. We have students who love coming to school to learn and play with their mates. 

I am proud of your personal growth this year and on the weekend I had the opportunity to read all your reports for semester 2. I have also written you a letter about your performance this year. You should get this letter early next week. If you are proud of your efforts, and I hope you are, then you can share this with your family and maybe even put a copy on the fridge.

Today I want to spend some time talking about the BDC way and our college values and why we have them.

The Bishop Druitt Way has five tenets or ideas:

1. Prioritising Wellbeing - Are you looking after yourself and others around you?
2. Empowered For Life - Are you building your skills and making good choices?
3. Embracing Diversity - Are you welcoming people that are different to you?
4. Pursuit Of Excellence - Are you trying your best? Are you setting some PBs in your classes?
5. Service Of Others - Are you thinking about others and helping them in practical ways? Kindness starts with you.

There are some big questions there!

Added to this are our college values:

Mutual Respect - Mutual respect is when two people may not agree on everything but they don't get upset over little things and are willing to work things out because they care for their neighbour.

Service - Being willing to contribute to the wellbeing of others through voluntary service to the community - our Christmas Appeal gifts to the Warrina Women’s and Children’s Refuge and to the Soup Kitchen are good examples of this.

Inclusivity - at BDC this means that we welcome people who might be different from us - they might come from a different school, or town, or state or even country, have different coloured skin, speak a different language at home, have a different religion, or even have a big house or a small house - this value is important in an Anglican School as we are stronger as a community when we embrace our differences.

Integrity -  means being honest and open and trustworthy and following up on your word. Your reputation as a person is built on your integrity. It is easy to lose so look after it. Integrity is a little like a piggy bank - it builds with each positive deposit you make.

Courage - this doesn’t necessarily mean brave or strong - it is about showing resolve in the face of adversity and being enterprising and adventurous and prepared to take risks and learn from your mistakes. 

Justice - Seeking the common good where all are treated fairly - everyone wants to be treated fairly.

Generosity Of Spirit - To have generosity of spirit is to act with kindness, to be open and willing to share with others without any expectation of receiving something back in return. ... It means to celebrate the success and efforts of others without envy or resentment. This can be difficult sometimes but remember your success doesn’t change just because someone else does well.

We are an Anglican School and as such our school values are important to us. Over the last few days of school, I would like you to think about these values, to finish the year strongly to celebrate your successes and to celebrate the successes of others and to perhaps even set yourself some goals for next year.  

I wish to special mention of two people today who have been integral in our BDC way in our primary school for many years. Rev David Morgan and Mrs Ruth Stuart are both retiring at the end of the year and I wish them well in their next phase. They actually have much in common - they are both respectful, inclusive, serving our community, are towers of integrity, have courage in their actions and convictions, are just kind and caring and have generosity of the spirit. And yes - I just listed all of our college values. Rev David and Mrs Stuart have lived these values at BDC and we have been richly blessed by their contributions.

In conclusion, I wish you well for the rest of 2021 and over the Christmas holidays, I ask you to remember the reason for the season. God Bless.

Nick Johnstone
Principal