HARVEST Christian College, Kadina, is celebrating 25 years of providing quality Christian education to the Yorke Peninsula.

The College is kicking off the festivities with a time capsule ceremony this Friday, February 14, from 10.25am.

The community, past and present staff and students, and parents and friends are encouraged to attend.

“All students have prepared letters, crafts, and items that will be placed in the capsule during the ceremony,” Principal Peter Ayoub said. 

“The capsule will then be opened in 25 years’ time for the 50th anniversary.

“I hope the legacy the time capsule leaves behind includes Harvest’s vision, that the students feel connected and a sense of belonging, and care about what happens to our College in the future.”

Following the ceremony, guests are invited to enjoy barista coffee and hot cross buns.

Celebrations will continue in term 3, with a bush dance to be held in August.

The College community will enjoy traditional barn dancing combined with a barbecue dinner.

“We’ve hosted a few bush dances, and they are so much fun,” Events Coordinator Kim Blackwell said. 

“It just breaks down the barriers because you don’t have to be a great dancer and you don’t have to be stylish.

“People reverse their utes in so we can sit on them, and photobooths and haybales create a barn setting.” 

Finally, in term 4, a special assembly and college fair will be held for the broader public to enjoy on October 24, and will round out the year’s celebration festivities.

“Each class will create a stall with a range of activities to allow students and families to engage in the celebrations,” Miss Blackwell said.

“There will be games, facepainting, inflatables, food vans and more!” 

Miss Blackwell said the variety of events throughout the year meant there was something for everybody.

“It reflects our sense of community, wanting to get everyone involved and making everybody feel valued,” she said.

“The students will contribute to the 25th anniversary celebrations throughout the year, beginning with the time capsule, and celebrating at the bush dance and fair.”

‘Part of something bigger’

HARVEST Christian College has spent the past 12 months integrating with the Tyndale Group of Christian Schools family, which provides the College’s students with greater opportunities.

Principal Peter Ayoub said he had many conversations with Christian schools across South Australia, and found the Tyndale Group — with schools in Salisbury East, Strathalbyn, Murray Bridge and now Kadina — aligned best with the College’s values.

“Our first principal came from the Tyndale Group, from Tyndale Christian School in Salisbury East, so it’s really nice that we’ve come back to our grassroots,” he said.

“As part of the group, we have been able to share expertise and offer a greater and unique subject selection.

“We’re investigating how we can work with Tyndale’s other schools to deliver remote teaching and learning through digital technology, which will create even more subject choices for our students.”

Mr Ayoub said other benefits of being a Tyndale school included the opportunity for students to join overseas mission trips to countries such as Kenya and Sumatra, attend the annual Compass Conference for school leaders in Canberra, and enjoy interschool sports events.

“Our students are suddenly a part of something bigger,” he said.

“They have friends in the other schools and there’s a large social network.”

HCC is also expanding its reach by this year introducing a bus route to Port Broughton.

“There are a number of families in Port Broughton who have expressed interest in coming to our school,” Mr Ayoub said.

“We already have students coming from Port Broughton and the surrounding areas, so we have decided to expand our bus route to be able to cater for those students.

“We want to make sure our school is accessible to every student.”

The College is also looking forward to accessing their new $1.3 million library, expected to be ready for use by term 3, which will cater to growing enrolments.

“We’ve already extended how we use our library, so students have library lessons where they look at referencing and resourcing, so that they are ready with those skills when they go to university or further study,” Mr Ayoub said.

“We wanted to create a purpose-built space where our middle and senior school students see the library as a valuable resource, not just a primary school-style library.”

In the longer term, HCC also plans to establish an Early Learning Centre, and expand learning support and student services.

A rural focus

AGRICULTURE will also be getting an upgrade at Harvest Christian College this year, including the introduction of sheep, shedding and even a weather station on site.

Previously, agriculture has only been offered as a Foundation to Year 7 subject within science lessons, focusing on horticulture.

However, Head of Primary Tyson Hartley is excited to expand the subject into the Secondary School.

“We’ll be focusing on sheep and agronomy, looking at crop and chemical trials,” he said.

“We will be working closely with some of our local businesses and farms, bringing them on site and taking students offsite to visit them.

“Part of the curriculum focuses on technological advances, studying the modern side of agriculture and working with our weather station.”

AgByte’s Leighton Wilksch, of Paskeville, will be donating a weather station to the College, which can provide statistics about soil, wind, weather and water, and feed that information to a website live for students to access during their studies.

“A focus of our Year 7 curriculum will be food webs, plant relationships and horticulture,” Mr Hartley said.

“One of the projects is building a bush tucker garden and yarning circle.”

The sheep and new shedding will be partly used for lambing pens, and will be ready this term, with cropping scheduled to begin in term 2.

“Throughout the last few years, part of students’ English assignments has been to plan and create a business proposal for an ag expansion within the school,” Mr Hartley said. 

“This gave students agency and influence into their learning and the future of the College.

“It was always in our long-term strategic plan, but with some of the students proposing their business expansion plans to the Leadership Team, the growing student interest sparked the initiative.

“My biggest goal is to expose our students to as much agriculture and agricultural practices as possible, to prepare them for their future in the area.”

Principal Peter Ayoub said HCC will also be expanding its metal work department.

“If you are a farmer, fitting, turning and welding are essential skills required to work in the trade,” he said.

Mr Ayoub is also aiming to obtain a grant to build an agriculture classroom in the future.

Ali’s A+ ATAR

HARVEST Christian College’s Ali Abdullah was not only the College Dux last year, but gained the highest ATAR on Yorke Peninsula for 2024, with a raw score of 98.55.

When the results were released, Ali was visiting family in Pakistan and it was 3am there.

He said he had expected it to be a good result due to his subjects — Chemistry, English, Mathematical Methods and Extension Studies — and grades he had already received.

“But I was not expecting to get it that high,” he said.

“I was very excited and I woke my siblings and parents up.”

Ali said it was also “really shocking” to later find out he had the achieved the highest ATAR on YP for 2024.

Ali said Extension Studies, in which he studied a first-year Psychology unit through Flinders University and received a high distinction, was beneficial for his ATAR.

Head of Secondary Scott Carson said it was “an incredible accomplishment and a testament to his hard work and dedication”.

Ali also studied Stage 2 Biology a year early in Year 11, as well as receiving a merit for Research Project in the same year.

Ali said he will take a gap year in 2025, before studying medicine at Adelaide or Flinders universities in 2026.

“My biggest inspirations are my parents — both are doctors, and I have always admired their dedication, resilience, and the sacrifices they made to provide for our family,” he said.

“Seeing the effort and selflessness they put into both their profession and our family has inspired me to push myself academically, and strive for a future where I can make a meaningful impact, just as they have.”

His advice to this year’s cohort of Year 12s is for them to focus on their goals.

“It was easy to get distracted at times, but I would just advise to stay dedicated to your work if you want to follow your dreams,” he said.

Mr Carson said HCC was committed to providing a variety of learning opportunities, including VET pathways, school-based apprenticeships and extension studies at various universities, to ensure students have multiple pathways to success.