Toongabbie Christian College

MIKE BUDDEN Parent 1997-2002 Principal 1997-2002

What a great privilege it was to be Principal at Toongabbie towards the end of the 20th century, around the time of the Sydney Olympics and the threat of the Y2K bug (remember all computers were going to crash, planes were going to fall from the sky and commercial businesses were going to be thrown into chaos when we entered the 21st century?). At TCS (Toongabbie Christian School at the time) we were seeing unprecedented student growth and there was a move to focus on the K-12 model rather than having separate Primary and Secondary Departments. As a consequence, we needed to combine two school office spaces into one and provide more classrooms. So, with the blessing and encouragement of a very supportive School Board, we set out on a major building program that grew into providing a new Administration building and a hall project that included those needed classroom spaces as well as incorporating sporting, stage and theatre facilities. I pay special tribute to Mr Ross Humphreys who was the Business Manager at the time, for his oversight and major contribution to the project. I believe it still serves the community very well. On a personal note, one of the highlights of my six years was the production of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat . In 46 years working in schools, I still maintain I have never seen a better, more professional and entertaining school musical production. It was a real credit to Mr Dave Hopper and Ms Sharon Sopher. While acknowledging the staff above, it is important for me to praise all the staff - teaching, ancillary and support. Their commitment to Jesus, their desire to serve Him in whatever role they played and their conscious decision to give God the glory in all situations was a great encouragement. Finally, congratulations on celebrating 40 years of operation. The road has not always been smooth but the faithfulness of all that have been involved, and the goodness of God, ensure that many students have ‘grown up into Christ’. Praise Him! PS. In a right of reply to Steve Williams, I actually ran into that fence as I magnificently caught the ball that was kicked high! I hit the fence and doubled over it. Steve is right in that I couldn’t get myself off the fence and needed help (and I had to drop the ball after the brilliant catch!). “I’m going to make you an offer you can’t refuse.” This was my greeting when I arrived for an interview with Mike Budden about a coordinator role at Toongabbie: Secondary English, HSIE and Visual Arts. What I didn’t tell him was that I had already been offered a similar role in two Christian schools on the Central Coast. What you need to know is that Mike and I had already worked together at Mayfield Christian Community School and knew each other extremely well. So, who could resist the words from The Godfather? And there I was. My job was to lead and teach. My ministry was to love and encourage those around me. My passion was to ensure that Toongabbie Christian School maintained its Christ-centredness. Together we built a community of love with lots of fun built in. The staff were squashed into sardineland, as I referred to our staffroom. I supervised three departments with committed and extremely talented staff. You know who you are. Together we implemented new syllabi and improved teaching and learning. We worked with leadership to ensure a Christ-centred curriculum. We also brought the creative arts into the limelight with musical productions involving a large number of Primary and Secondary students. Non-teaching staff joined us in the productions and we had a great time celebrating the God given talent of our community members.

SUE SKUTHORPE Teacher 1998-2002

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