Steven has over 25 years’ experience in the banking industry working with both domestic and international financial institutions. He has a broad experience in corporate and institutional banking in relationship management, lending and risk management. Steven is currently focusing on the area of Conduct Risk with a major Australian bank. He married with two children and has attended Menai Baptist Church since 2001.
Principal's Welcome
Welcome to the Inaburra community.
Since its beginning in the early 1980s, Inaburra School has built a strong reputation as a school of first choice in the Sutherland Shire and the surrounding areas. Inaburra continues to be a community in which every individual is known and loved – a place where every student is valued as a person made in the image of God. It is, first and foremost, a learning community in which staff and students learn with, and from, one another in a Christian environment. While we seek to encourage all students to grow in their understanding, we recognise that students will need more than just knowledge and understanding to flourish today and into the future. They will need to become competent and confident learners, ready to learn, perhaps even unlearn and relearn, how best to engage in different activities throughout their lives.
Education at Inaburra, however, is not about ensuring that our graduates, as a result of developing their capacity to learn, are empowered to accumulate more resources over the course of their lifetimes. Our desire for our students rather is that they might become people of generosity rather than accumulation, humility over arrogance and compassion opposed to self-importance. We seek to encourage our students to be generous in the classroom, humble enough to admit when they don’t understand something and compassionately supporting their classmates who are struggling with a particular concept or idea. As a Christian school, our focus is on the development of character. Staff and students alike are encouraged to become people who are gracious, compassionate and self-controlled learners, ready, willing and able to be a blessing to those around them now and into the future.
You are very welcome to come and experience for yourself the life and ethos of Inaburra School.
Dr James Pietsch became Principal of Inaburra School at the start of 2018. Prior to commencing at Inaburra, Dr Pietsch was the Dean of Professional Development and Learning at St Luke’s Grammar School in Dee Why where he had previously been Head of Mathematics. He has also held positions as the Dean of Residents at New College at the University of NSW, and as a lecturer and tutor in educational psychology at the University of Sydney. He holds a doctorate in educational psychology and brings a wealth of experience in education and leadership to his role as Principal.
Our Values
Inaburra exists to be a Christ-centred learning community pursuing excellence in education with every individual known and loved. Based on this mission our values are as follows:
- We commend and cultivate FAITH in God, who makes himself known to us in and through His Son, Jesus Christ.
- We pursue KNOWLEDGE, delighting in the gift of learning to live well in God’s world.
- We commit to LOVE, because Christ first loved us.
- We strive for EXCELLENCE in thankful response for all that God has provided.
- We treasure each INDIVIDUAL, recognising and respecting the image of God in every person.
- We cherish COMMUNITY, knowing that relationships are at the heart of living and learning.
Our Story
In the late 1970s, after surveying their local community, Sutherland Baptist Church saw a need to establish a Christian school in the local area. On 10 August 1980, the church accepted the recommendation of an education sub-committee that a high school should be established in the Menai district. Thus, in pursuit of a dream, they sold their church property in Sutherland and crossed the Woronora River to establish Inaburra School and a new church now known as Menai Baptist Church.
Facing significant financial risk and overcoming many obstacles, a portable building was erected on the corner of Billa Road and Bangaroo Street for the use of the preschool and church in 1980.
Inaburra High School opened in 1982 in temporary accommodation at Gymea Baptist Church. The School comprised of 60 Year 7 students and 24 Year 8 students. Stage One of the Inaburra Complex was still being built and it wasn’t until Term 2 of that year that the School moved to the present site. On Monday, 24 May 1982 at 8:30am the staff and students of Inaburra High School began their first day in their newly built facility on the Billa Road site.
Over three decades later, the dream of the founders has now been realised and continues to be realised with over 1000 students.
Our Future
2022-2025 Strategic Directions
Since it was founded in 1982, Inaburra has built a strong reputation as a school of first choice in the Sutherland Shire and surrounding suburbs. Historically, the school’s strengths have been in Christian education, pastorally-caring relationships, creative and performing arts, and future-oriented innovation. In recent years these strengths have been broadened to include the quality of our facilities, the professionalism of our operations, the use of ICT for student learning and the holistic nature of our education. Inaburra is increasingly becoming an exemplar school in the independent sector in NSW.
Our Goals
As we look ahead to the next three years, Inaburra will be focusing on building three aspects of our school community. We will seek to be:
- A kingdom-of-God shaped community – in which students, parents and staff are encouraged to put on the virtues of grace, humility, kindness and compassion.
- An academic community – in which students engage regularly in rigorous and challenging learning activities designed to build learning character and understanding.
- A flourishing community – in which students and staff are supported so they might flourish as lifelong learners.
How we go about achieving these goals is outlined in the Strategic Directions 2022-2025 publication.
Governance
Inaburra School is operated by Inaburra School Limited ABN 51617812558 (ISL). ISL is a company limited by guarantee and is the legal entity responsible for the conduct and operations of the School. Inaburra Communications Limited ABN 78001998876 (ICL) is the sole member of Inaburra School Limited.
All affiliated activities including: Inaburra School Canteen; Inaburra School Uniform Shop; Inaburra School Parents & Friend’s Association and Inaburra School Foundation are operated under ISL.
The Principal and all staff are employed by ISL. The Principal attends ISL Board meetings by invitation. The School’s Administrator acts as Company Secretary.
ISL may form committees, either standing or occasional, with particular briefs for oversight of aspects of the School’s operation. These committees may be chaired by a Director of the company and will include the Principal. These committees may include other Directors, staff or members of the community as deemed appropriate and necessary. These committees are advisory bodies that report to ISL.
The Principal is appointed by ISL. The Principal has general authority to conduct the operations of the School on a day-to-day basis. The Principal is effectively the Chief Executive Officer of the School. One of the Principal’s primary functions is to ensure that the NSW Education Standards Authorities (NESA) requirements are met for School registration/accreditation.
ISL Board of Directors
Steven Russell (Chair)
BCom, GDipAppFin
Jeremy Baillie
BBus
Jeremy has worked extensively in the aviation industry for the past 24 years. He has worked in a diverse range of areas including Engineering, Commercial Management and in Operations. Jeremy is currently the Manager of the Integrated Operations Centre for Qantas Airways. Jeremy is also the Chairman of the Leadership Council at Menai Baptist Church where he has attended with his wife and three children since 1996.
David Crawford
MAppLaw, DipLaw
After working in Government, David worked as a solicitor for the NSW Director of Public Prosecutions before practising in private practice in Bathurst subsequently moving to the Sutherland Shire in 1995. He is the Principal of Crawford Ryan Lawyers based at Miranda. He is a Law Society Accredited Specialist in his area of law. He is also a nationally accredited Mediator and Arbitrator. David is married, a former parent of Inaburra School students and has attended Menai Baptist Church since 1996.
Liz Mansour
BA, BCom, DipBibMissions
Liz has over ten years experience as a senior staff member serving the students at the Sydney University Evangelical Union. Prior to this, Liz worked as a Regulatory Analyst for the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission and Australian Energy Regulator. Liz is also an Inaburra graduate, attends Narwee Baptist Church and is married with three children.
David Sadler
MA, BSc, DipEd
David taught High School Mathematics for 36 years at Sydney Grammar School. He was Head of Department for seven years. He has had teaching roles at UNSW and is the author of several senior Mathematics textbooks. David currently works part-time as a consultant and lecturer at three coaching colleges.
Alison Wolf
BCom, CA
Alison has 15 year’s experience working as a chartered accountant for BDO. She spent nine years in audit working with clients in both the for-profit and not-for-profit sectors. Alison now works for BDO International’s Financial Reporting Advisory group. Alison is a former student of Inaburra School, attends Menai Baptist Church and is married with two children.
Academic Results
Congratulations to the Inaburra School HSC Class of 2022
16 December 2022
Today we celebrate the completion of formal schooling for the Inaburra Class of 2022 and the release of the HSC and ATAR marks. Whatever the individual results, there’s no denying the resilience of this cohort who have spent approximately one-quarter of the last two years of school time in remote learning and we recognise and acknowledge the achievements of them all.
Despite the range of challenges they faced, there were some excellent results achieved by this cohort.
Subjects that achieved above-state averages:
The following subjects all recorded averages that exceeded the State average by more than 5%: Ancient History, Textiles and Design, Food Technology, Music 1, Legal Studies, Industrial Technology, PDHPE and Mathematics Standard 2.
Other notable aspects of the HSC results for 2022 include:
- A total of 80 Distinguished Achiever results were listed on the 2022 HSC Honour Roll where students had achieved a mark of 90 or above (Band 6) in specific subjects.
- A total of 289 Band 5 results were recorded where students had achieved a mark between 80 and 90
- Hence, more than 50% of the results earned by Inaburra students were either Band 5 or 6
- 25 Year 11 students completed an HSC course in one or more of Mathematics Extension 1, Mathematics Advanced and/or Studies of Religion 1
HSC All-Rounders and Achievers
Well done to three of our students who were recognised on the ‘All Round Achievers’ list with results in the highest possible band across 10 units of study – Jizelle Issa, Abbey Parkes and Mark Russell.
Congratulations to Mark Russell for gaining 5th place in the state in English Extension 1.
Notable ATAR Results
Students were invited to share their ATAR results with the school at the morning tea held the day after their results were released. Of those present, three had achieved an ATAR above 98% and many others had achieved ATARs above 90%.
Congratulations to the following students for recognition of their HSC Major Works:
Jacob Elias, Jaiden Ritchard, Vincent Vangi were nominated for possible inclusion in ‘Shape 2022’ (Industrial Design).
Jacob Elias, Jaiden Ritchard, Vincent Vangi were also nominated for possible inclusion in ‘InTech’ (Industrial Technology), an exhibition of outstanding Major Projects from HSC Industrial Technology students.
Mackenzie Fogg was nominated for possible inclusion in ‘Shape 2022’ (Textiles and Design), an exhibition featuring a selection of students’ exemplary HSC major projects from Design and Technology, Industrial Technology and Textiles and Design.
Mackenzie Fogg was nominated and selected for ‘TEXStyle’ (Textiles and Design), an exhibition of a selection of exemplary Textiles and Design projects from the HSC.
Anjeline Balis and Bronson Ballantine-Jones were nominated for possible inclusion in ‘ENCORE’ (Music), a showcase of performances and compositions by HSC Music students.
Amber Laplanche, Nicole Moss and Sophie Taylor were nominated for possible inclusion in ‘OnSTAGE’ (Drama), a showcase of performances and projects by HSC Drama students, for their individual performances.
Abby Leong and Alicia Gladman were nominated for possible inclusion in ‘CALLBACK’ (Dance), a showcase of exemplary performances and compositions from the HSC Dance course. Abby was nominated for all three components of the HSC Practical Examination: Core Performance, Core Composition and Major Study Performance. Alicia was nominated for two components: Core Performance and Major Study Performance.
Congratulations to the Class of 2022 and the incredible teachers and families who supported them through their final years of schooling. We look forward to what the future brings.
NAPLAN results
The My School website profiles Inaburra School and includes details of its NAPLAN results. Click here for a direct link to the website.
