RHAC’s vision is to be a united Christian learning community committed to:

• taking opportunities
• serving
• achieving

Achieving academically can be measured in different ways. Students who struggle academically and manage to improve their maths marks, for example, from 40% to 55% can celebrate a strong achievement.

By contrast, a student who is academically capable and achieved a mark of 80% with limited effort has not achieved as much as the student who managed to improve his/her marks to 55% because the student who achieved the higher grade did not try hard enough. However, if the student who was coasting on 80% decided to work harder and increase his/her marks to 90%, this student would also be a great achiever.

It is important for RHAC to celebrate collective academic achievement as well as the achievement of individuals. NAPLAN assessments are Australia wide tests for Years 3, 5, 7 and 9. Students are assessed in 4 key domains:

• Reading
• Writing (note – the school has not received these results yet)
• Language Conventions – Spelling, Grammar and Punctuation
• Numeracy

The NAPLAN results give parents an indication of how their child performs in these fundamental skills in comparison to other students their age. Student achievement is reported across four proficiency levels:

• Exceeding - exceeds expectations
• Strong – meets challenging but reasonable expectations
• Developing – working towards expectations
• Needs additional support

The Sydney Morning Herald recently published an article listing schools whose students most improved their NAPLAN results from Year 7 in 2023 to Year 9 in 2025. There are approximately 550 schools in NSW with students in Years 7 and 9. RHAC came 33rd, which I think is a great achievement.

Some key achievements and highlights from this year’s results:

Year 3

• 75% of students were in the Exceeding or Strong categories for Reading, Language Conventions and Numeracy (note – we do not have the writing results yet).
• The highest performing areas in Year 3 were Grammar and Punctuation.
• No students were identified as needing additional support in Numeracy.
• While the Year 3 average for Spelling was in the Strong category, our Head of Learning in the Junior School, Mrs Vlok, has identified spelling as an area to work on in the future.

Year 5

• The highlights for Year 5 were very similar to Year 3.
• We were very pleased to see many students in Year 5 achieve the maximum possible result in Numeracy, Grammar and Punctuation.

Year 7

• 75% of Year 7 were categorised as Strong or Exceeding in Reading, Language Conventions and Numeracy.
• The best performing domains were Language Conventions and Numeracy.
• The Language Conventions domain provides separate results for Spelling, Grammar and Punctuation. While all 3 results were in the Strong category, the best results for Year 7 were for Grammar.
• Reading and Spelling had comparable average results (Strong, but lower than Grammar and Numeracy)

Year 9

• 75% of Year 9 students were in the Strong or Exceeding categories in Reading, Language Conventions and Numeracy (note – we do not have the writing results yet).
• The highest average result for Year 9 was in Numeracy, closely followed by Grammar.

Our Head of Curriculum, Mr Johnston, is responsible for managing NAPLAN for Years 7 and 9. He was very pleased with the results for both year groups. Mr Johnston also noted that while the results for reading were pleasing, they were comparatively lower than some other categories.

Improving reading can happen both at school and at home. Parents sometimes ask me how they can contribute to helping their child to improve academically. Encouraging your child to read hard copy books, in addition to what is required of them at school, is one simple and valuable way that students can improve their performance in reading. Restricting screen time at home and substituting time on a device with time spent reading a hard copy book is a great way to help children to achieve academically.

I must confess that it is not easy to condense the enormous amount of NAPLAN data we receive into clear and understandable results that parents can easily understand. I trust that this celebration of NAPLAN results has been helpful for parents.

I have vivid memories of being part of multiple teams when I was growing up – debating teams, tennis teams, prefect teams, music teams – and perhaps you do too? Even though the types of teams are many and varied, teams have something in common and that is that you can usually tell what team someone is on by their actions. Music teams play music, debating teams debate and sports teams play sport.

This term, Junior School has been gathering together during chapel to consider “Life on Jesus’ Team”. The Bible teaches us that when we join Jesus’ team, and live life on His team, our lives will start to look a particular way. In the gospel of Matthew, we read from the Sermon on the Mount, when Jesus began teaching His disciples about what successful living in His Kingdom looks like – He says to them: “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 4 Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. 5 Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.6 Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled .7 Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy. 8 Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.9 Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God. 10 Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” (Matthew 5:3-10)

As Jesus teaches His friends about what life in His kingdom looks like, He doesn’t highlight the requirements we might ordinarily associate with being a successful member of a team. Jesus doesn’t say those who are blessed are the strong, the intelligent, the attractive, the achievers. Rather, Jesus says those who are blessed in His team, are those who live lives marked by meekness and gentleness (v 5), those who hunger and thirst for what is righteous(v6), those who show mercy and are merciful(v7), and those who are peacemakers (v9) When we live life on Jesus’ team, these are characteristics that will be growing in our lives as we grow in Him.

Elsewhere in the Bible, in the book of Galatians, the Apostle Paul talks about the fruit of the Spirit – evidence in the lives of those who follow Jesus as they grow in their knowledge and love of Him. Paul says this: 22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness and self-control. (Galatians 5:22)

Successful living on Jesus’ team is characterised by the growth of all of this ‘fruit’ in the lives of those who follow Jesus. When we falter in living lives that show we are living for Jesus, may we remember that Jesus was Himself the perfect, gracious, merciful, peacemaking Saviour who gave His life so that all who believe in Him may not perish but have eternal life.  All we need to do to be a part of His team, is to trust in Him and follow Him!

The Blanket and Beanie appeal is an event that is currently running till 29th May . RHAC, along with 29 other schools are encouraging students and the community to donate products to help out the homeless this winter. You can donate new and clean quality:

• Blankets
• Beanies
• Scarves
• Adult jumpers
• Adult pants
• Doonas
• Women’s sanitary products

You can bring your donations to school and place them in our donation bins in the main reception, noting that reception will be located in G1 under the auditorium from Monday 25th May. We only have a short amount of time left and Blankets and Beanies works alongside incredible charities to ensure the donations go into the right hands, so we really encourage you to donate so we can help keep the homeless warm this winter.

More information can be found on the blankets and beanies website https://www.blanketandbeanieappeal.com/

Our staff are committed to supervising students while they are on the school site; however, there are limits on the College’s capacity to provide active supervision. To help parents and carers understand RHAC’s supervision arrangements please click on the link below or refer to the parent handbook.

Information correct as of the time of publication.

Information correct as of the time of publication.

ICAS is an online academic competition that gives students the opportunity to challenge their higher order thinking and problem-solving skills in English, Mathematics, Science, Writing, Spelling Bee, and Digital Technologies.

ICAS results are in-depth and meaningful, and ICAS evaluates student performance against other competition entrants across the state and nation. The data reveals student strengths and weaknesses and can help you recognise and support your child's academic journey.

Learn more about ICAS here

How to participate in ICAS

If you wish for your child to participate in ICAS this year, please follow the instructions below to register for your chosen subjects.

You can do this in one of two ways:

1. Direct login link – faster!
   Use this link to log directly into the shop and start registering: https://shop.icasassessments.com/pages/parent-payment/NNB002
2. Log in using the PPS code
   Visit the shop and use our PPS code to log in:
   Shop link: https://shop.icasassessments.com/pages/pps
   PPS code: NNB002

Registration for all subject areas closes on Monday 27 July at 11:59pm.

This year, our students can elect to sit the following assessments:

Please note, the college cannot facilitate refunds or make alterations as all money is paid directly to ICAS Assessments.

Read the terms and conditions here .

We have recently corrected the naming of our newsletter issues. Unfortunately, this process affected the links to past issues  for this school year. You can view all previous newsletters using this link . Thank you for your understanding.

Join the RHAC P&F – Spring Fair Preparations Are Underway!

The P&F plays an important role in supporting our school community by bringing families together, fostering school spirit and helping create memorable opportunities and experiences for our students. Through fundraising events, community activities and volunteer support, the P&F contributes to initiatives that enrich school life and strengthen the connection between parents, staff, and students.

As preparations begin for our much-anticipated Spring Fair, we are inviting parents, carers, grandparents, and members of the wider RHAC community to become involved and be part of the excitement. The Spring Fair is one of the highlights of the school calendar, and its success relies on the generosity, enthusiasm, and support of volunteers within our community.
The preparations are officially underway and the RHAC P&F is looking for enthusiastic volunteers to help make this year’s event a fantastic success!

We are seeking parents and community members who would be willing to take on fun and rewarding roles such as managing stalls, assisting with activities, helping behind the scenes, and supporting event coordination on the day.
Getting involved with the P&F is a wonderful way to meet other families, contribute to the school community, and be part of a fun and vibrant event for everyone to enjoy.

If you would like to lend a hand or find out more, please email [email protected] — we’d love to have you involved!

Warm regards,
Sneha Pandey President,
RHAC P&F
E [email protected]

Join our vibrant, dynamic, and caring team in a welcoming, friendly, and professional environment.

RHAC welcomes applications from qualified candidates for both teaching and non-teaching positions. Click below to view our current vacancies.

The 2027 term dates have been published and can be accessed below and via our website.