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.

Under Robinson’s leadership the high school moved deliberately into the technological age. The high school established its first dial-up internet connection and established a basic school web site. Assisted by a grant from the Commonwealth Government through the AISQ, Robinson was able to take technology further: install a local server, set up a computer network, and improve access through the installation of optic cable. By the end of his principalship he had established two computer labs, one Mac and the other PC. Furthermore, he ensured the school’s curriculum was changed to utilise the new technology. Campus development was also happening. In conjunction with the Home and School Association, shade cover was installed over the area between the Administrative and Classroom blocks. This, in keeping with increased sun safety awareness, provided cover for assemblies and hand games. The school also entered into an ongoing site maintenance agreement with a contractor. This included the regular painting of buildings and replacement of such items as rusted gutters and down pipes. Everything was done to keep the external appearance of the school at a high level. Not only did this keep a neat school before the general public, but it also helped engender spirit and pride within the school community. Another of Robinson’s initiatives was to bridge the ‘River Jordan’. A pedestrian walkway was constructed across the creek thereby facilitating movement between the two schools. In recalling this, Robinson did not mention whether this project was negotiated with the Brisbane City Council. After all, as noted in an earlier chapter, the Council claimed proprietary rights over a strip of land on either side of the drain.

A Conversion Experience

Mr Brian Robinson not only established two computer labs, he also made computing facilities available to staff. Being an innovation, Robinson recognised the need to start with a few teachers who in turn would become change agents for the rest of the staff. He decided that the teachers in the English department best met his criteria as leaders in adopting the new technology. After all, they did seem to produce a lot of typed material for class use. So the English department was invited to lead the way.

To his surprise one of the senior English teachers resisted strongly and declared emphatically: “My trusty typewriter has served me well all these years and will see me through to the end of my career, thank you!” Others, however, in the English department began to use the staff computer. It was only a matter of months, however, before Robinson began to receive staff complaints. “We can’t get access to the staff-room computer.” “Why?” Robinson inquired. “Well, Mr H is always hogging it and won’t give us fair time.” It would appear that Mr H had experienced a Damascus Road-type conversion. He never explained, however, how or why he pensioned off his beloved typewriter.

This pedestrian way was in a sense symbolic of a trend between the two schools which flowered in the mid-1990s. This included regular joint consultation involving both administrations with a view to streamlining and coordinating planning and development. This was taken further when about 1995 it was agreed to adopt the name Brisbane Adventist College and that the two campuses would be designated BAC Primary and BAC Secondary respectively. It was also agreed to place the two schools under a joint board. In this new arrangement the principals of the two schools would alternate on a yearly basis serving as the Board secretary. The other logical merger was for one Home and School Association to serve both campuses. To use a secular analogy, the two schools were living together and all that remained was a formal wedding. Robinson was also responsible for increasing the number of weekly chapels to two. He did this to provide opportunity for greater student participation, to facilitate greater exposure to BAC values, and to enhance further the spiritual development of both students and staff. Robinson also saw the role of his school in serving the wider Adventist community. Under his guidance an agreement was negotiated between the Conference, Adventist Book Centre and the school to locate an on-campus ABC Centre to serve church membership in Brisbane’s south. The school made a classroom available for this purpose. During his principalship, the high school enrolment continued to increase and reached a high of 328 students in 1995. In part this growth was due to a scheme to subsidise the fees of students who might otherwise not be able to attend. The student subsidy scheme was built into the annual budget. In a 1996 decision, the Conference placed a strong curb on the scheme and this resulted in a dramatic drop in student enrolments in that year. Both the primary and high school principals experienced dismay at this decision and felt their capacity to assist needy families and grow their schools had been severely curtailed. Both principals felt further unease when in 1997 the Conference invited eminent educator, Dr Robert Andrews, to chair a commission charged with examining both schools, with particular emphasis on financial management and administrative structure, and to make recommendations pertaining to both schools. While the Conference sought financial savings, the two principals felt the need for the commission reflected upon their stewardship of the respective schools. On the positive side, Robinson recalled with pleasure and appreciation the support he received from Pastor Peter Colquhoun during his presidency in South Queensland. As Robinson notes, Colquhoun is “the only president in my experience who took the time to periodically pop in to the school just to say hello, ask how things were going, and have prayer with a busy but grateful Principal.” Likewise, Robinson appreciated the unstinting support he received from Mr Nick Roussos during the several years he served as chairman of the High School Board. At the end of 1997 Robinson was appointed to another Adventist high school. This appointment came, however, at a most inopportune time with one of his children scheduled to complete high schooling in 1998. The Robinson family therefore opted to remain in Brisbane and Robinson found employment within the commercial world. Robinson’s successor was Dr Arnold Reye. Reye, after a career as an educational administrator at school and systems level, had retired from church employment at the end of 1996 and located to a property south of Brisbane. Reluctantly he agreed to be the stop-gap principal for 1998. As part of his briefing by the Conference education director, Mr Grant Watson, Reye was made aware of the work carried out by the Andrews Commission. One of the chief recommendations made by Andrews had been the formal amalgamation of the three entities—pre-school/day care centre, primary school and secondary school—into one school under a single administration. To facilitate the implementation of this recommendation a sub-committee had been appointed under the chairmanship of Mr John Oxley. To this group was given the responsibility of recommending the form the amalgamation should take. The mandate from the Conference was that the amalgamation should seek financial savings, and at the very least be cost neutral.

The Oxley committee met several times during 1998 and recommended that Brisbane Adventist College consist of three schools: the early childhood centre, the primary school, and the secondary school. Under the principal there would be three heads of school. It also recommended the appointment of deans to assist the heads of primary and secondary schools. These deans would be responsible for curriculum and student affairs. A small financial saving was achieved, but it was hoped the gains would be more in the area of efficiency and in the marketability of the school. Within the non-government sector the model of one school providing for a seamless progression through the primary and secondary years of the student was gaining popularity. The BAC Board and the Conference Executive Committee endorsed the recommendations. Having helped to flesh out the structural details of the amalgamation, Reye agreed to remain at the school for a further year to guide BAC through the first year of its new structure. One of the first issues was the location of the BAC administrative centre. Reye felt that an office in either the primary or secondary departments would create difficulties for either of the new heads of schools. There would always be the temptation to micro-manage. It was therefore decided to renovate the old primary principals’ cottage on Broadwater Road to serve as the new administrative centre. Mr Stuart Hemsley, an experienced project manager, undertook to draw up plans and oversee the work. The 1999 school year therefore commenced with all in place for the new-look Brisbane Adventist College. During 1999 Reye saw his major tasks as being to fine tune the new administrative structure, to take deliberate steps to shift the thinking of three separate staffs into a one-college mode, to develop job descriptions for each of the new roles that had emerged, and to develop school-wide policies to govern BAC operations. In this he was well-supported by the heads of schools—Mrs Carolyn Barnett, Mr Gary Greenland, and Mr Graham Baird respectively, and by Dr Ross Cuthbert, chairman of the BAC Board.

It Started at BAC

Queensland is used to boiling up a storm or cyclone or two. We know, for we have just had Cyclone Yasi blow through. In 1992-3 a storm of another kind was born. It began with some students talking with the BAC chaplain, Mr Jerry Unser, and urging that he find them some activity that would witness to their faith. Unser mulled over this and together with the students came up with the idea of creating a storm in western Queensland towns that had no permanent Adventist presence. You could call it a drought-stricken region of Queensland. The idea was to spend a week to ten days helping the local community in any way possible—painting community facilities, carrying out repairs, cleaning unsightly areas, planting gardens—and to provide special programs for the children. The first STORM CO (Service to Others Really Matters) team went to Charleville. It was an adventure and it proved to be a fun thing. Most storms strike once and then dissipate, but not STORM CO. This storm refreshes the parched inland at least once a year and sometimes more frequently. Furthermore, this tempest has spored similar happenings in other parts of Australia and New Zealand. Although not all STORM CO participants are Year 12 students, some are even past students, yet there are those who on the completion of their final year studies elect to engage in a week of serving others as their right of passage from high school to the wider world. How this behaviour contrasts with the notorious Schoolies Week 29 with its focus on self-pleasure and self-indulgence! And let’s not forget that kicking up this kind of storm started at BAC.

Communication is a major tool in bringing disparate parts together. Previously the primary and secondary schools had their own regular newsletter which shared information and gave notice of up-coming events. There was now a need for a single weekly publication whereby the school would communicate with students and parents. Students were invited to submit their suggestions for a name for this new newsletter.

‘BAC Chat’ was the imaginative suggestion of one primary school student and so BAC Chat became one important means whereby three separate entities became integrated into one College.

By coincidence the primary and secondary schools in 1999 became due for re-accreditation with the South Pacific Division Commission on Accreditation. In one sense, this was a pressure BAC could have done without. In another sense, it was a fortuitous opportunity for the three staffs and parent representatives to work together in assessing the new BAC against objective criteria. It proved to be a unifying task. All felt delighted and justifiably proud therefore when the external assessors recommended that BAC be accredited for six years, the maximum term permitted. During the Robinson years a start had been made in thinking about meeting the need for a school hall cum function centre. This planning took on a more serious perspective during 1999 as the needs of the total school were considered. Possible designs, the financial requirements, and other planning issues take time, but the form of a Student CentreAssembly Hall moved forward at this time. Reye, however, was happy to complete his agreed service at the end of 1999 with the basic underpinnings for the school’s future ready for a younger and more dynamic leadership.