As we celebrate the College’s 35th anniversary year, the occasion is marked with the first inaugural ringing of the Founders’ Bell.
To find out more about our 35 year history, head to our anniversary page below, complete with commissioning service video recap, a historical timeline, messages of commendation and a digital homecoming.
The Founders' Bell
The Founders’ Bell has been crafted at the Allanconi Foundry in Milan, Italy. The ancient art of casting bells has been passed down for generations from father to son. The artisans take pride in their combination of traditional and modern craftsmanship techniques to forge extraordinary musical and sacred artefacts. The bell bares 4 symbols that are embedded in the founding philosophies and purpose of the College.
The College Crest - The College Crest depicts the Cross comprised of individual mosaic pieces representing students, faculty and families coming together as the College community. Open ends of the Cross demonstrate the releasing of our Alumni to purse God’s call on their lives. The College Motto “Character through Christ” inspires us as disciples of Jesus Christ.
The Lion of Saint Mark – The Winged Lions with the Open Bible is a symbol of St Mark the Evangelist. The mission of Northside is “To make disciples of Jesus Christ educated and equipped for any future.”
Luke 3:22 “The Holy Spirit came down…like a dove on Him.” - We value the presence of God through worship, the Lordship of Christ through His Word, and the work of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit enables us with spiritual gifts.
Trinity Knot (Triquetra) - In the Christian faith, the three points of the Triquetra represent the Holy Trinity of Father, Son and Holy Spirit. The enclosing circle emphasises eternal life. It also symbolises the three Northside elements of families, school and church, with the circle emphasising unity.
Our College Principal, Mr Leighton Kuss, elaborated on significance behind the Founders’ Bell saying,
“In 1st Samuel 7:9-12 in the Old Testament it is easy to get bogged down and lose sight of the beauty of God’s repeated provision for his people. At first glance this passage appears like many others – just another conflict between the Israelites and the Philistines.
But Samuel did not want this victory to fade into obscurity in the minds of the people. Instead, he found a giant rock to mark the site of the battle and called it Ebenezer, which means stone of help.
Rather than giving praise to God one day, and then moving on and forgetting about His provisions in the days to come, as the Israelites were prone to do, Samuel establishes a lasting landmark that bears witness to God’s unfailing goodness in His life and those of the Israelites.
That’s why during the College’s 35th anniversary year we have created our own Ebenezer landmark, not a stone of help, but a Bell of hope. Our Founders’ Bell.
Located in the heart of the College Campus, highly visible to us all every day, the symbols on the Bell remind us of the values that we are called, to never forget. The Values that our founders and leaders value.
As we ring the Founders’ Bell we honour the men and women who established our College back in 1985. People who had vison, people who prayed, people who overcame obstacles, people who self-sacrificed, people who today we honour as a College Community. We acknowledge the following Founders:”
- Mr Graham Corney
- Ps John Lewis and Val Lewis
- Mrs Shirley Mead
- Mr Don Plumb
- Ps Charles Newington
- Mr Vic Onions
- Mrs Pam Burke
- Mr Derek Cato
- Mr Jim Hadfield
- Mr Roy Prickett
- Mr Amrat Jeram
- Mr Peter Tredenick
- Mr Rod Longmire.
The Founders
Without the visionary leadership of Graham Corney the College would not be here today. The Founders’ Bell took 12 months of planning, Mr Corney, however laboured diligently for 8 years prior to the commencing of Northside Christian College to safeguard path of the College for generations. Ensuring through its governance and connection to the church that Northside would stay true to God’s path and purpose, to provide a Christian education. To make disciples of Jesus Christ educated and equipped for any future.
Pastor John Lewis and Mrs Val Lewis led Northside Christian Family Church, which became Northside Christian Church, then Nexus Church for 33 years as Senior Pastors. Val was also a group leader when the Kindy opened in 1976. Along with others, Val used her professional design background to help sew each school uniform until there were approximately 300 students in the College. Pastor John and Mrs Lewis later travelled around the country, in those travels, loved to meet up with College alumni and hear their stories. Mrs Val Lewis rang the Founders’ Bell on behalf of herself and the late Pastor John Lewis.
Mrs Shirley Mead was a member of the Foundation Education Committee and became the Foundation Teacher-in-Charge. She was the sole staff member of the College at the beginning of 1985; teaching a composite class with Years 1,2,3 students. From 1989, Mrs Mead was appointed School Principal and continued in that role till 1993, when Mrs Mead remained as Head of Junior School until the end of 1994.
Mr Graham Corney along with Mrs Val Lewis and Mrs Shirley Mead each rang the bell, marking the occasion and honouring them for their key roles in the formation of the College and its commitment to Christian education.
Principals Fellowship Awards
During the proceedings College Principal Leighton Kuss took the opportunity to recognise the current staff who taught in the very beginning and are still teaching today. Honouring Mrs Tricia Crimmins, Mrs Bev Starrenburg and Mrs Kathryn Scott as three pioneering teachers, who taught alongside Mrs Mead. These three teachers were presented with the Principal’s Fellowship Award. These awards are presented: “for distinguished contribution to the establishment of Northside Christian College.” In recognition of longstanding dedication to Northside Christian College. We honour your pioneering spirit, self-sacrifice, virtue and devotion, which has resulted in cultivating and nurturing Christian faith formation within hundreds of young men and women.
Messages of Congratulations
Our College Principal invited a range of people to pen thoughts for the College as we celebrated our 35th anniversary. From Balmoral Castle, the Queens residence, “The Queen wishes me to write and thank you for your letter in which you ask if Her Majesty might send a personal message to mark the thirty-fifth anniversary of Northside Christian College. Her Majesty was interested to hear a little of the history of Northside, and appreciates your wish to mark the College’s progress and achievements in this way. Her Majesty hopes that the celebrations will be greatly enjoyed by all those who have been part of Northside’s story to date.”
During this time the Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison wrote this letter to the College, “Congratulations to everyone at Northside Christian College on celebrating your 35th anniversary. Over the years, your College has built upon its early foundations of faith, dedication and a commitment to education. Today, it now stands as a living tribute to the vision of its founders. This anniversary falls at a time of extraordinary challenge, here and around the world. During these times we find out how strong we are as individuals; how strong our relationships are; and most importantly, how much we depend on each other in these times. This is a time when we should reflect on how we can support each other and help each other. (Continued below)