Book Week Parade

Our Book Week Parade was a tremendous success!

Alpacas With Maracas was a staff favourite for dress-up, and the creativity on display was fantastic.

A huge thank you to Mr Davis and his team for organising such a fun-filled morning and coordinating the parade. There were plenty of Harry Potter characters, along with popular appearances from Smurfs, Minions, and even a few inspired by Wicked. Sporting heroes like Ronaldo joined the mix, as well as classic favourites including superheroes, Zeus, Ariel, Minecraft characters, and Dr Seuss (a personal favourite of mine!).

Thank you for the effort put in at home with costumes, themes, and reading. One of the greatest gifts we can give our children is a love of books. It was especially heartwarming to see younger siblings take the stage, even before they’ve started “big school.”

Our library is always open, with shelves full of books ready to be borrowed or read throughout the day. What will your child choose next?

Faithfulness in Service

Throughout the year, we often see the energy of our students as they develop a commitment to a caring and empathetic community, focusing on wellbeing through empathy, compassion, and citizenship traits.

Recently, our Human Rights Group took meaningful action by assembling 200 birthing kits for the Birthing Kit Foundation Australia, made possible through their incredible fundraising efforts throughout the year. They worked alongside the Zonta Club on these life-saving kits, which include sterile sheets, gloves, gauze, soap, and more. The kits will be sent to communities around the world where access to clean, safe birthing conditions is limited. Making a difference comes through hands-on actions, and these life-saving kits are a wonderful example of the BDC Way in action.

The 2025 Primary Jump Rope for Heart is another example of making a difference with strong community support, where over 100 hours of skipping and more than $11,000 were raised. Congratulations to all involved!

The care for our community is also exemplified by our local surf lifesavers. Congratulations to our local student nominees in the Surf Life Saving Rescue of the Month awards of excellence held in Sydney. Sawtell SLSC received a nomination, and 13 individuals were nominated for this award. Outstanding service was shown by local club members and BDC students in Year 9: Saul Easman, Isaac Ryan, George Haynes, and Oki Clifford from Orara High School, as well as St John Paul College, Coffs Harbour student Billy Rawling, for a difficult rescue they performed in May. Congratulations on demonstrating outstanding citizenship and leadership traits.

Recruitment and Staff Updates

2026 recruitment is ongoing throughout Term 3. I would like to congratulate the following staff for applying for the following promotional roles and being successful:

Mrs Meegan Bruggemann our new Transition and Engagement Coordinator Year 5 to 8.
Mr Joel Davis appointed as our Innovation and Professional Learning Coordinator.
Ms Sheree Downes acting Year 9 and Year 10 (2026) Coordinator as Mr Blythe takes leave.

2025 Australian Institute of Office Professional (AIOP) Award Nominee

Congratulations to an outstanding member of staff and proud BDC mother, Ms Claire Beheiry, for her nomination in the Events and Operational Coordination category. Claire is responsible for many of our signature events, stage themes/decorations, coordination of staff/performances and slide shows to name a few exceptional areas of expertise. We wish Claire well for the October event.

Diocesan School Network (DSN) Meetings and the Anglican Community

Each school term, our DSN meetings are held for schools across the Anglican Diocese of Grafton. The Term 3 meeting, involving five schools and one ELC, reaffirmed the message from the Anglican Schools Association 25 Conference about the strength of our Anglican schools.

We have five wonderful schools across our diocese closely connected with the Cathedral in Grafton. These schools represent around 5,000 students. When we include families and staff, our Anglican education community exceeds 11,000 people, making more than 16,000 in total. This is a significant and meaningful community united by the goal of providing an outstanding educational experience for our young people.

Across Australia there are over 180,000 students in Anglican schools, highlighting the value families place on a faith based education and the strength of Anglican schooling. We are part of something bigger and we benefit from this wider community through our school networks, NCIS sport, HICES debating, the Ethics Olympiad, Round Square, performance opportunities and our dedicated staff.

Thank you for your support in being part of our school network.

Perks and Perspectives Term 3

Commencing on 1 September at the Old Butter Factory in Bellingen, we will begin our next round of catchups with me and some of our specialist staff. Please see our notice for further details on dates and venues. You are most welcome to join us for a cuppa, to ask a question or simply have a chat.

BDC Horizon Online

BDC Horizon Online is an exciting new venture at BDC led by Mr Craig Verbruggen and Mr Mark Norberry, offering online courses for Year 11 and Year 12 students. The program continues to attract strong interest. In 2025, courses will include Agriculture, Engineering, and Health and Movement Science. We hope to expand these offerings in 2026. Recently, the team returned from AgQuip in Gunnedah, where they showcased our online courses.

Link to website

Link to Expression of Interest form

Sport: NCIS Athletics

2025 has been a very successful year in athletics. We thank the many parents who provided support, as well as Mr Craig Hundle for his coaching. Over 100 students competed, with age champions crowned across both primary and secondary levels.

Signature Events Across Term 3 and Term 4

Fathers Day Breakfast 4 September

We warmly welcome all fathers, grandfathers, and special family friends on 4 September. This event is always popular, so please allow extra time for parking and when leaving. A big thank you to our staff, volunteer helpers, and raffle donors for making the day possible.

It’s a special day for many families, and we hope everyone is spoilt on 7 September. Happy Father’s Day!


2025 Sports Award Dinner 29 October

Please join us for another fantastic evening celebrating sporting success. 

We are excited to welcome Joe Collins, Ironman champion and rising star of Australian surf lifesaving, as our guest speaker. Joe embodies resilience, ambition, and excellence. The qualities we proudly celebrate in our students. (Don’t forget to enter the video competition too!)

To learn more about sponsorships and the event click here.


2025 BDC Golf Day 9 November

At beautiful Bonville Golf Resort. This event is usually sold out early. 

To boost your business's visibility at our premier event with sponsorship and find out more click here.

Performing Arts Awards Night 13 November

A great evening with family and friends in the Branson Centre. Get some friends organised and come along and celebrate a night of performances.

To sponsor a trophy, simply click here.

Class of 2025

Please continue to keep the Class of 2025 in your thoughts and prayers as they approach the end of a busy term and prepare for their final HSC examinations. The Trial HSC is now complete, our HSC Dance students have finished their practical exams, Drama students will perform soon, and Visual Arts students will submit their Body of Work.

A large number of students will be completing HSC performances, language examinations, and major works before the excitement of the Valedictory Assembly at the end of this term. Ms Katie Gudgeon, Rev Lisa Williamson, Mr Craig Verbruggen, and Ms Andrea Wiffen will be coordinating the Valedictory Dinner. Unfortunately, I will be on planned leave at this time and will not be able to attend this wonderful night.

We encourage all HSC students to continue working closely with their dedicated teachers, ask for help when needed, and make the most of the iHUB to support their preparation.

God bless,

Simon Doyle
Principal