How to help your child in their high school years

The following is an edited version of my comments to Year 7 2026 students and parents this week.

School is such a significant time in life. It can be a daunting, but also wonderful time full of joy and opportunity. Part of our job is to help our students make the most of the opportunities that come their way, and to overcome challenges, too. Education is a three-cornered contest which works best when home, school and students are on the same page and headed in the same direction. School works best when we all work together, each in our different roles, as student, school, and parent.

The point of school is learning, and our vision is Love Learning. We want our students to be learners because learning is the best way to be equipped for an uncertain future. We want our students to be able to make sense of the unknown by connecting it to the known. We want them to do this in all their learning – the academic, the Christian, the co-curricular in wellbeing.

Our product at NBCS is learning. It is not results; they are a byproduct. It is not wellbeing; it’s a byproduct. It is not friendships; they are a byproduct. It’s not even the Christian life of the school, it’s a byproduct. We want our students to make the most of school, and our view is that the best way for them to do that is by putting learning at the centre, and then all the other elements of school life fall into place as very valuable byproducts.

We long for our students to come to know the love of God, but the authentic way for us to do that as a school is to teach for understanding, and to pray for belief. We hold the view that God’s love is a certainty in a world and future of uncertainty. We want our students to leave with an understanding of the Christian message and with open hearts towards it.

We long for our students to be equipped for the world beyond school, our great hope is for them to be able to thrive even in the face of adversity. For us, it is not simply a matter of resilience, bouncing back to how we were, but antifragility, the ability to grow in the face of hardship. Because one thing we know for certain in an uncertain future is that the road ahead is never always smooth.

As parents and as teachers we have to be careful not to overdo our roles in a way that robs our students, your children, of the opportunities they need to grow, which includes practicing managing uncomfortable feelings and tricky situations. We need be careful not to smooth the road entirely for our students and children.

I really like the advice of an Australian psychologist, who said we should all parent as if we had a big family. That way, we are more inclined to say things like, that’s no good, see how you go tomorrow, because when you’ve got four or five kids you don’t have time to be jumping in on every little hiccup that occurs along the way.

When your children come home and unload, when your children tell you about interactions or things that may have happened at school, one of the helpful things to do is to ask them, “what do you want me to do about it?” Often the answer is “nothing, I just wanted you to know”. Equally, don’t be afraid to get in touch with us and keep us looped into your insights into your child and their school journey. We will do the same if and when we notice things that would be helpful for you to know.

We look forward to making the most of all the wonderful opportunities that high school life has to offer. Let’s do that together.

Tim Watson
Principal