A New School Emerges The 1990s proved pivotal years for both the primary and high schools. Increasingly parents had students attending both campuses and it made sense to ensure both campuses made equal progress. There was therefore an irresistible dynamic directed at merging the two campuses into one. Wright concluded his administration at the end of the 1991 school year. His successor was Mr Brian Robinson. Robinson’s immediate role before Brisbane had been deputy principal at Sydney Adventist College. He had, however, previously served as principal of a number of smaller Adventist schools. He was therefore no novice to administration. Furthermore, he had a disposition toward innovation and change. This bode well for the continuing future of BAC Secondary. Robinson had long held an interest in other cultures and one of his earliest initiatives included the introduction of Japanese language study into the curriculum. In the implementation of this curriculum development he was aided by a general movement within Australia to include foreign languages within the school curriculum, and not just the traditional languages of German and French. Given an increasing evidence of Japanese economic interest in Australia and the importance of the Japanese tourist trade, the choice of Japanese seemed most appropriate. Robinson also tried to make the study of this language more attractive through his establishment of sister-school relations with the Shirakawa Junior High School in Japan, through his support for a student exchange program, and through the promotion of visits to Japan by groups of BAHS students. The hosting of students from Shirakawa enabled Brisbane families to get to know the young Japanese ambassadors at the personal level. Most host families could at least say “Konnitchi wa” and bow with proper deference.
Japan Trip 1999.
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