Our Community

In our series of College pillars, we come to Community and how we express this pillar is reproduced above. It is not by mistake that ‘Community’ is the third of five pillars and finds itself as a centre point.

It is not uncommon for me to hear our families say, that what drew them to our College was our facilities and our education programs, but what keeps them here is the sense of community. This is something we celebrate.

Our College staff were blessed to hear from our founding Principal Mal Wegener last year, who said that the secret to the success of Cornerstone College was the focus in the initial years on three things:

1. Relationships

2. Relationships

3. Relationships

From this basis, it is no surprise to me that almost 35 years after the founding of the College, Cornerstone is still known as an authentic community. We are a rich and bonded community which is built on the foundational relationship between school, student and family.
Relationships and community have been at our heart since the beginning. We are a school of the Lutheran church founded on the works of our sisters and brothers who have gone before us and whose values we uphold today. One of the leaders of the early church, the Apostle Paul wrote this statement, encouraging an early Christian community:

“Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. Be devoted to one another in love. Honour one another above yourselves…Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. Share with people who are in need [and] practice hospitality. Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn. Live in harmony with one another.” (Romans 12:9-19).

This week as principal of the College, I’ve had opportunity to rejoice with those who rejoice. I was so proud to hear of our success in our divisional swimming championship which brought home first place. Two of our fantastic leaders represented us at International Women’s Day Breakfast with distinction. We attended SACE merit ceremonies. We interviewed students and families who are looking forward to joining us in 2026 and 2027. We celebrated the safe delivery of the baby of one of our staff members.
In just one 24-hour period in recent days, I’ve heard of one of our students suffering a serious medical issue and hospitalisation, the very real impact of water shortage for our families on the land and I have been in contact with our sister schools in Queensland, who are in the path of a cyclone. I’ve mourned with those who mourn.

One of our teachers, Mr Matt Schirmer, led a devotion last year in which he shared with staff, the Swahili greeting ‘Sawubona.’ This greeting means ‘I see you, I am present with you.’

At the heart of our community is this idea. We see each other. We see each other as we are. We see each other as we can be. We know that life often brings more struggle than celebration. We are here to help students, families and staff in all seasons. As Mal reminded us, it is about relationships. It is about being decent human beings and sharing, caring and supporting.
Long may God call us to this core value and empower us to live it out in our community.

Blessings
Tom Brennen
Principal