Inaburra and Menai Baptist Church joined together to celebrate the School’s 40th anniversary milestone with a Thanksgiving Service. It was a wonderful time of reflection, acknowledging God’s goodness over the school’s history and recognising the many individuals, past and present, who have contributed to the story. It was lovely to see all the generations represented!

The service included a Q&A panel, student items, a cake cutting moment and a lovely morning tea afterwards.

On behalf of Inaburra and Menai Baptist Church we thank everyone who came along and joined in the celebration.

See more photos here.

It’s become an Inaburra tradition when celebrating significant School milestones to capture a whole school photo. Monday 29 August was the day!

Organising nearly 1,200 students plus staff was certainly no mean feat, however it ran like a well oiled machine thanks to careful planning. Thank you to all staff and students for their cooperation in capturing this special moment in time.

Watch the time-lapse of how it all came together HERE.

Inaburra Principal, Dr James Pietsch, officiated a ribbon cutting ceremony on Tuesday 30 August, unveiling a 12-metre illustrated timeline capturing significant moments in the School’s 40 year history.

The event was attended by Ms Jenny Ware MP, Member for Hughes, along with members of the School community including former board members, principals, staff and members of Menai Baptist Church who were involved in the founding of the School in 1982. The ribbon was cut by the two youngest and two oldest students in the school.

The timeline is displayed on the outside wall of the School’s Performing Arts Centre where students and families can enjoy it.

See more photos here.

All K-12 students participated in a ‘House Colours Day’, donning their House colours and competing in a number of fun challenges to earn points for their beloved House!

Junior students rotated around eight activity stations, with a birthday theme to the challenges including a ‘Keepy Uppy’ balloon challenge and a ‘Pin the Candle on the Cake’ challenge.

Senior students were able to choose between four lunchtime challenges including a Remote Control Car race (a throwback to the Remote Control Car Club at the school in the 80s and 90s!), a Paper Plane challenge, a Tug Of War challenge and a Shooting Hoops challenge.

Students had a wonderful time celebrating and competing all in one! See more photos here.

Students across K-12 were challenged to recreate a photo from the school’s past in the present day in their Homegroups.

With creative juices flowing, there were so many laughs as students recreated the photos using all manner of props and technology to bring the past back!

A wonderful coincidence was discovered when a Senior School student noticed her mother in one of the archive photos and assumed the role of recreating her in the photo.

See more photos here.

It was an evening jam-packed with celebration activities as current and prospective families and Alumni turned up in big numbers to help us end our 40th Anniversary Week of Celebration with a bang!

From student performances to open classrooms and tours, food trucks and market stalls, a projection show of photos from the archives as well as an Alumni HUB display full of memorabilia and photo moments, it was an evening to remember for years to come.

Thank you to everyone who came and supported the event, despite the unfavourable weather!

See more photos here.

The Inaburra Founders Lectures Series were held across three weeks as they sought to explore the area of ‘Art, Beauty and the Transcendant’.

This year was the official launch of the Lectures Series and so it was only fitting the theme underpinned and reflected the school’s enduring value of creative and performing arts and media.

See more photos here.

The Generations Music Showcase was an amazing opportunity to showcase past and present Inaburra music talent, with Inaburra alumni performing to return some of the greatest musical hits throughout the years.

Bringing together the Junior and Senior Concert bands, alongside the Junior and Chamber String Ensembles, it was a night filled with talent and entertainment.

See more photos here.

Alumni, we’d love to hear from you! There are so many wonderful stories amongst our Inaburra Alumni community that we would like to share as part of our 40th anniversary celebrations.

Sharing can include:

• Favourite memories from your time at Inaburra (serious or funny!)
• A teacher who impacted you in some way
• Where are you now – how Inaburra helped shape the person you are today

If you have a story to share and/or photos, we encourage you to send them to alumni@inaburra.nsw.edu.au

Stay connected to the Inaburra community through our Alumni Facebook page. It’s a closed group of safe sharing, connecting and promoting Alumni events. Not a member? Join HERE

Inaburra School commenced operation as a High School on 3 February 1982 in a temporary location, Gymea Baptist Education Centre (Gymea Baptist) before moving to the Billa Road site. To get to the stages of opening a school, however, were no easy feat.

The vision to build a school was a testament to God’s faithfulness and goodness, and a tribute to the perseverance of the school’s early founders.

As Norm Naylor, the architect of Inaburra School stated, the school was built in conjunction with God’s vision.

“Saint Paul tells us that we are co-labourers together with God, who is in the process of building His church and we believe as we go, “step by step”, He opens up the way; He brings an environment that He uses to stimulate our growth. We also acknowledge that in “our Dream for Christ” – N.A. Naylor, July 1982.

Inaburra School possesses a unique name that is inspired not only by its surrounding environment but also by the story of its foundation and purpose.

Reverend David Nicholas of Menai Baptist Church penned these words which featured in early prospectus material for the school.

“We are surrounded by streets which have been given names that are Aboriginal in origin. For this reason we searched for a suitable name to help us imagine and plan for the future. The name we chose, ‘INABURRA’ is an Aboriginal word meaning ‘dream’. We have a dream for Christ, a dream of meeting people’s needs, for the Church is people”*

In selecting a name for their new school, the founders reflected on the vision and dream of Menai Baptist Church to serve the wider community in the Menai area. The realisation of that dream became Inaburra School. A school whose vision it is to serve and honour God.

The name of our School serves to inspire successive generations to think big, plan and dream of what is possible through God.

* Inaburra: the dream continues. Inaburra Communications Limited. 1987. P.9

Music, Performing Arts and Media have always been key pillars that form the basis of Inaburra. From music ensembles, media classes and school productions, it’s safe to say, most students would have a performing arts memory from their time at school!

What does your day to day look like at Inaburra in 2022?

In 2022, I work part-time supporting Gifted and Talented students and teachers in English in Literature Studies classes, facilitating the Student Representative Council, preparing and running the Master Class Program for all Year 11 students and running a weekly program to help poor spellers improve and coordinating the Public Speaking program.

You were one of the very first primary school teachers when the Inaburra Junior School first opened. What are some of your fondest memories from this time? 

Our first cohort consisted of a Kindergarten class with 38 dynamic students who I taught in a large classroom which had white carpet(!) and a years 3-44 composite class taught by Mr Paul Cockrem, who was also the Deputy Principal. Our principal was Rev. Max Knight and he used to often come and visit us.  He also used to come up to our staff area and pick roses from the garden for his secretary Mrs Ray and student secretary, Mrs Jurd. Our parents were amazing, thoroughly supportive and involved because we were starting from scratch and this meant so much to us.

One special memory was the Nativity play at the end of the year with every Kindy student having a part where the then School Inspector, Miss Richardson, came and commended us on an excellent first year. Mrs Knowles was our first secretary and she was such a tireless worker who set up many systems. Her organisational skills in those early days were invaluable. Teamwork was so important and it is one of my fondest memories. 

Probably the most precious memories I have are the people – our wonderful students. I still remember some of the funny things they did, the staff and support staff such as Mr Gray, who kept the white carpet clean, the parents who trusted us with their precious children and the School Board who were very supportive.

How has Inaburra changed since you first started at the school? Has anything remained the same?

The school still values every student and this has been consistent in my 35 years at Inaburra. We still want to demonstrate our Christian focus and therefore, staff are all Christians. 

Dr Pietsch is my seventh Principal and there are still some staff who I have taught with for the entire time I have been at Inaburra. Quite a number of current staff I have taught English to and quite a number of students have parents who I taught either in the Junior or Senior School.

You have been involved in many Inaburra programs from SRC to debating. What do you love most about these extracurricular activities you are involved in? 

I experience great joy in seeing students who may not excel in the classroom be passionate and effective leaders who can conduct school tours which make prospective families very interested to sign their children up. I also love that these programs such as public speaking often give students a voice and their speeches often seek to empower the vulnerable or disadvantaged.

What does a love of learning mean to you as a teacher?

I strongly believe it is not only a teacher’s responsibility to facilitate learning, but it is vital to foster a love of learning. This means student engagement is essential,so lessons must meet individual needs so differentiation is necessary. 

What have you loved most about teaching in a Christian school? 

I love working with colleagues who are Christian. I love being led in worship on our PD days. I love praying daily with my Home Group. I love praying with and for our students, families and colleagues. I love being able to share my faith openly with students. I love hearing how former students are serving God, some as missionaries, pastors, doctors, nurses and teachers.