Thinking back on my time at Hinterland, I am extremely thankful and feel incredibly blessed to have been nurtured through my middle school years in such a loving and inclusive community. This welcoming, family environment has been intentionally and purposefully created by the staff, who care deeply for each student and who see the unique potential inside each one. Hinterland celebrates students and nurtures their unique learning style both in an out of the classroom. My time at Hinterland deepened my love for learning and gave me a great appreciation for my education and desire to do my best. All of the teachers encouraged me to strive for excellence in every area and I saw this attitude pay off as I went on to complete my HSC. Constant encouragement from my teachers and peers gave me the confidence to grow academically, spiritually and emotionally. I fully believe that my schooling at Hinterland shaped my character and was the very best foundation off which I was able to springboard successfully into adolescent and adult life. I was encouraged daily in my Christian walk and found my identity as a child of God. It is a huge blessing to have maintained great friendships with students and staff alike over the years since finishing and I look forward with much anticipation and excitement to the future. I cannot speak highly enough of the passionate staff and every family that make up this exuberant school community.

In 1996 I started my schooling years at Hinterland Christian College and although I don’t remember it, I have been told I loved school from day one. I give all the credit to the amazing teachers that guided me through the next 8 years of academia at Hinterland. The teachers at Hinterland not only have a strong passion for Education but also a love for Jesus and a desire to guide students into a positive spiritual and emotional adulthood. Karlene Grinham helped me identify my God given gifts and role modeled how to be a caring, supportive, knowledgeable teacher. I am forever grateful for the opportunities that Hinterland gave me. I am now a teacher myself and still look to Karlene for wisdom when planning lessons and understanding students.

I attended Hinterland Christian College (formerly Mullumbimby Christian School) for my Primary Education. And now, with the advantage of hindsight, I can see just how beneficial it was. It was an embracing environment that supported me as an individual. My unique strengths and weaknesses were nurtured and developed for the best possible outcomes both academically as well as personally. I'm very grateful to my parents, who chose to send me to this school, as it gave me a solid foundation on which to build the rest of my life.