Manning Valley Anglican College (MVAC) is excited to welcome its new Principal, Mr Mark Newton, from the start of Term 2.
Newcastle Anglican sat down with Mr Newton to chat all things MVAC, the amazing Mid North Coast community, and how the students embody the school slogan, Let Your Light Shine.
Q: Are you excited to be joining MVAC?
A: I’m very excited to be joining MVAC and coming to what I know is a beautiful part of the world. I’m honored to be leading a faith-based community that is already thriving and has a wonderfully positive future, so yeah, tremendously excited.
Q: You’re no stranger to the region. Was that part of the attraction to come here?
A: Absolutely. Yeah, I do know the region well having lived in this area for most of my life.
I’ve been in Queensland for the last 12 years for other work, but the opportunity to come back to this beautiful part of the world where we have wonderful beaches and a beautiful natural environment right on our doorstep was one I couldn’t turn down.
I think rural communities offer something that metropolitan communities don’t because you’ve got the opportunity to get to know the students, the parents, and other community members at a personal level. I think when you’re asking families to trust us with their children, that’s important.
Q: MVAC’s motto is ‘Let Your Light Shine’. How do you see that manifesting in how students carry themselves around the school?
A: Yeah, look, I think there’s a wonderful feel about the school. I think when you first walk into a school you get a sense of the culture; you get a sense of just the atmosphere and how that all feels. It’s been so positive from the moment I walked in here. But we have a responsibility that when we enroll a student, whether that be in pre-prep, Kindergarten, Year 7, that we are providing an opportunity for them at every year level.
As students get into secondary and particularly those upper years of secondary education, it really is imperative that we can meet the demands of their chosen pathway. And that’d be a real focus for me, ensuring that our students can really let their light shine in their chosen pathways and we’re able to meet that need.
Q: You’ve spent a long time in education. What’s your personal philosophy in teaching and leading a school?
A: I think that I’m very relational and I really believe in getting to know people. I think if you want to do well you have to be well and feel well. So, for me it comes down to being an authentic leader. I am not above the team as principal, and I am absolutely focused on acting in the best interests of our students and community. I think the starting point for that is by working relentlessly to create the best learning and teaching environment possible.
Attracting and retaining quality staff is a challenge these days. There are lots of opportunities for education and I think it’s critical that we have established that environment where staff feel valued and have the opportunity for career development and personal satisfaction. Their welfare, for me, is a priority.
Q: One final question. What are you most looking forward to?
A: I’m looking forward to getting started now. The growth in this college has been remarkable and that’s a wonderful testament to the work of the staff here. The best advertisement for a school, particularly in a rural community, is word of mouth. That’s been overwhelmingly positive and I want to come in and enhance that and show people that I’m here to take the lead the college through to its next stage of growth and embed myself in the community.
