ICS News

ICS News 2026 – Term 1, Week 5

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In This Issue

Community

New year, new staff!
Staying connected with SEQTA – communication made easy

Junior School

Semester 1 Primary Leaders inducted into their roles

Secondary School

Growing Curious, Courageous and Compassionate Students – From the Director of Secondary

Sport

Impressive results for ICS at the CSSA Zone Swimming Carnival
A great day at the 2026 Swimming Carnival

Teaching and Learning

Highlighting the HSC achievements of our Class of 2025

Wellbeing

Parenting in a Consent and Respect World

Community

New year, new staff!

We've welcomed some fantastic new staff to our team at ICS this year! Make sure to make them feel welcome if you see them around our school.

Primary

Mr Tim Kime – Year 6
Mrs Alicia Lloyd – Year 1
Mr Luke Thorn – Year 4

Secondary

Mr Andy Callow – HSIE / Biblical Studies Teacher
Mr Josh Cunningham – Science Teacher
Mrs Rebecca Eastment – Biblical Studies Teacher
Mr Jarryd Roland – Head Teacher – CAPA
Mrs Hayley Simpson – Science Teacher
Mr Jarrod Williams – PDHPE Teacher

Support

Mrs Jacqueline Baltyn – Educational Support
Mr Jonathan Schouten – Grounds Assistant

Staying connected with SEQTA – communication made easy

SEQTA continues to be the main way for families to connect with our school, whether you’re messaging teachers, submitting absences, or keeping up with day‑to‑day information. We also encourage all parents to keep their details updated in both SEQTA and Consent2Go, helping us care for your children well and ensure communication reaches you smoothly. Read on below to stay up to date with how you can use these platforms.

A fresh look for SEQTA

You may notice that SEQTA has had a small makeover. The update introduces a refreshed colour scheme and updated icons, while keeping the layout exactly the same. All the functions you are familiar with are the same and in the same place, so you can continue using the platform with confidence—just with a smoother and more polished experience.

Submitting absences in the SEQTA Engage app

SEQTA Engage now includes a convenient feature allowing parents to submit absences directly through the app. This means you can update our staff with information about absences (including late arrivals and early departures) at a time that suits you—no need to email or call during office hours. You can also submit absence details on the morning of the day in question.

We’re pleased to see that many families are already using this new feature. As you continue to submit absences, we kindly ask that you include clear and accurate details, such as the reason for the absence along with expected dates and times. This helps our team follow up if needed and ensures the information flows to the right staff.

Just a reminder, if the absence is planned and will be longer than 3 days you will need to fill in a planned absence form and send it to the office. Planned Absence forms are available through your SEQTA app - just click the Student Forms icon on the landing page. They can also be found on the school website, by emailing absences@ics.nsw.edu.au, or by following the link above.

SEQTA is the preferred way to contact teachers

We encourage families to use the SEQTA Engage app as the main way to communicate with teachers. Messaging through SEQTA keeps everything in one place, makes it easier for teachers to follow conversations, and ensures your messages reach the right person quickly.

For general enquiries, administrative matters, or anything outside classroom communication, please continue to contact Administration, where our team is always happy to help.

Keeping your details up to date in Consent2Go

We also encourage families to log in to Consent2Go and make sure your contact and medical details are current. Keeping this information up to date helps the school support your children confidently during day‑to‑day activities, events, and excursions.

If you need a hand logging in or updating any details, please call the school—we’re always happy to help.

Junior School

Semester 1 Primary Leaders inducted into their roles

At the beginning of Term 1, our Primary Leaders for Semester 1 were inducted into their roles.

Congratulations to the following students:

Semester 1 Primary Leaders

Sarah Michell
Shaaron Johnson
Praise Ogie
Freddie Took

Semester 1 Primary House Captains

Keira – Myra Dhanani & Max Dombkins
Kembla – Emily Kenny-Michel & Elsie Kite
Nebo – Austin Jaison & Sophie Swain

Secondary School

Growing Curious, Courageous and Compassionate Students – From the Director of Secondary

At Illawarra Christian School, “we strive to be a dynamic Christ-centred learning community where students are nurtured to be curious, courageous, and compassionate life-long learners who transform the communities in which they live.”

These three values curious, courageous and compassionate are not just words on a page. They shape the opportunities we provide, the conversations we have, and the culture we are seeking to cultivate across our Secondary School. Over the coming weeks, there are a number of significant moments in our school community that help form these qualities in our students.

Welcoming Marshall Ballantine-Jones – Growing Curiosity and Courage

We are excited to welcome Marshall Ballantine-Jones to ICS this week. Marshall brings a Christ-centred and research-informed message that will challenge our students to navigate pornography, social media and relationships with wisdom, courage and respect.

I warmly encourage parents to attend the Parent Session on Tuesday evening. This will be a valuable opportunity to hear from Marshall directly and partner together in guiding our young people.

You can register for the session here.

Moments like these help students think more deeply about identity, relationships and faith, and give them courage to make wise and respectful choices in a complex digital world.

Secondary School Camps – Growth Through Challenge

Camps for Years 7–11 are fast approaching (Wednesday 25 March – Friday 27 March, Term 1 Week 9). School camps remain one of the most significant formative experiences in a student’s year. They provide:

A chance to think through and discuss different parts of God’s Word.
Time in God’s wonderful creation
Healthy levels of risk and adventure
Opportunities to step outside comfort zones
Space for friendships to deepen

Challenge is a necessary part of growth. Whether it’s abseiling, hiking, team challenges, or simply navigating shared cabins and group responsibilities, camps stretch students in ways the classroom cannot.

Consent2Go notes will be coming out very soon so please keep an eye out for these and complete the required information promptly. We are looking forward to a wonderful few days together.

Kembla House Fundraiser – Compassion in Action

On Friday 13 March, Kembla House will be hosting a fundraiser to raise awareness and funds for Miracle School Ministries .

Students are invited to:

Wear a blue accessory
Bring a gold coin donation
Enjoy a secondary bake sale
Participate in a Years 7–10 trivia competition

This is a great opportunity for our students to practise compassion in tangible ways by supporting communities beyond our own and recognising that even small contributions can make a meaningful difference. We look forward to strong house spirit and generous hearts on the day.

Futsal House Cup – Community and Courage

The Futsal House Cup kicked off this week in the hall at lunchtime to plenty of excitement! There has been great energy, strong participation, and a wonderful sense of community and house pride.

The competition will continue each Monday, Wednesday and Thursday during lunchtime until the end of Week 7.

It has been fantastic to see students:

Step up and represent their house
Encourage one another from the sidelines
Demonstrate skill, resilience and sportsmanship

Technology, Presence and Healthy Risk

One of the growing challenges for young people today is navigating technology, social media and phone use in healthy ways. While technology offers many benefits, it can also quietly reduce our capacity to be present and to truly engage in relationships, conversation and the outdoors environment.

As we move into the second half of the term, I’d like to gently challenge our students (and perhaps all of us!) to consider:

What might it look like to take a healthy, courageous risk?
Where could I step away from distraction and step into deeper connection?
How might I embrace adventure, growth and presence?

For many students, camp will be that courageous stretch. For others, it might be initiating a new friendship, joining a team, limiting screen time, trying something new, or setting a personal goal.

Looking ahead to Term 2, we will again be partnering with Forever Projects as we join the What's Your Kilimanjaro challenge. Further details will come soon, but the heart behind it is simple: step out of your comfort zone to do something difficult by setting a stretch goal, raise some funds and jump on board our school page. Last year there were many amazing challenges set by our wonderful students and we went on to raise over $12,000!

As we seek to nurture curiosity, courage and compassion, we ultimately point our students to Jesus, the perfect model of all three.

Micah 6:8 reminds us:

“He has shown you, O man, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you?
To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.”

May we continue, together as a community, to raise young people who ask thoughtful questions, take brave steps, and act with compassionate hearts grounded in Christ and ready to positively influence the world around them.

Kind regards,
Mr Peter Richardson
Director of Secondary

Sport

Impressive results for ICS at the CSSA Zone Swimming Carnival

On Tuesday, February 24, a group of ICS students competed at the CSSA Zone Swimming Carnival in Nowra. Congratulations to the students who represented our school!

Among some strong competition, ICS narrowly emerged as the overall runner-up of the carnival, placing second in both the primary and secondary points tallies.

Continue reading below for a full recap!

Ten of our students finished as age champions on the day, with four new records also broken!

Congratulations to the following Primary students who emerged as age champions:

Sophia D – 8 Years Girls
Asher S – 10 Years Boys
Arlo M – 11 Years Boys

Congratulations to the following Secondary students who emerged as age champions:

Sophie W – 13 Years Girls
Alek S – 13 Years Boys
Emily P – 14 Years Girls
Simon M – 14 Years Boys
Tamara B – 16 Years Girls
Mackenzie R – 18-19 Years Girls
Mitchell E – 18-19 Years Boys

Congratulations to the following students who set new records on the day:

Tamara B – 16 Years Girls – 50m Freestyle
Tamara B – 16 Years Girls – 50m Butterfly
15-16 Years Boys Freestyle Relay Team
- Jack T, Jake B, Sullivan R, Alex W
15-16 Years Boys Medley Relay Team
- Jack T, Jack W, Jake B, Alex W

A great day at the 2026 Swimming Carnival

Term 1 kicked off with a bang in Week 2 as students from Years 3-12 made a splash at the 2026 Swimming Carnival!

Check out some of the excitement below:

View this post on Instagram
A post shared by Illawarra Christian School (@illawarrachristianschool)

And take a look at a gallery of photos from the day:

Teaching and Learning

Highlighting the HSC achievements of our Class of 2025

At the end of last year, we celebrated the outstanding HSC achievements of our Year 12 Class of 2025.

We're excited to share a further breakdown of our 2025 HSC results, including our distinguished achievers, results by subject, and a series of profiles on the curious, courageous and compassionate learners of our cohort.

Click here to read our 2025 HSC Results Booklet!

Wellbeing

Parenting in a Consent and Respect World

Illawarra Christian School is pleased to be hosting Marshall Ballantine-Jones this week for a series of student seminars, staff training, and a parent evening focused on helping young people navigate relationships, media, and online culture with wisdom and respect.

Marshall Ballantine-Jones is the CEO of DigiHelp Publishing and Founder of Resist Ministries. He is an ordained Anglican minister and holds a PhD from the University of Sydney’s Faculty of Medicine. Marshall specialises in research and education around adolescent exposure to pornography and social media, and he regularly works with schools, churches, and families across Australia.

This week, during Tuesday 3 March and Wednesday 4 March, students in Years 9–12 are participating in age-appropriate, single-gender seminars and workshops exploring the impact of pornography, social media, and mass media on thinking, emotions, relationships, and decision-making. These sessions are grounded in a Christian worldview and emphasise human dignity, respect, consent, and God’s design for relationships.

Marshall will also be working with our staff to ensure a shared understanding and a unified message across our school community.

As part of this visit, parents and carers are warmly invited to attend a free parent seminar:

Parent Seminar: Parenting in a Consent and Respect World, with Rev Dr Marshall Ballantine-Jones
Tuesday, March 3 – 6:45pm for a 7pm start
ICS Senior Library

This seminar will explore the challenges facing young people in today’s digital and media-saturated world, why these challenges exist, and practical strategies parents can use to minimise risk, build resilience, and support healthy development. The session will also encourage partnership between families, schools, churches, and like-minded organisations.

We strongly value the partnership between school and home and believe this shared approach is vital in supporting the wellbeing of our young people.

Please click here to register for the event.

We look forward to welcoming families to this important evening.

Kind regards,
Mr Peter Richardson & Miss Heather Mansley
Director of Secondary & Director of Wellbeing