The development and growth of Singleton's Australian Christian College under its current principal Tim Shields has been significant.
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When the call went out in 2015 for a new principal the college had 60 students enrolled in its K-10 campus.
Today the college is a K-12 campus with 238 students currently enrolled and plans underway for a major development of 12 to 14 classroom to house the junior school.
From Sydney's Northern beaches to a remote community in the Kimberley, Mr Shields has experienced a lot throughout his teaching career.
Before arriving in Singleton in 2016 he was Head of Senior School at St. Philip's Christian College, Cessnock.
A passionate educator he enjoys nothing better than being part of the school community as evidenced by his regular appearance in character at the annual ACC Book Week parade.
With the college recording considerable growth in the last year, with enrolments growing from 214 in August 2021 to 238 - an increase of 11 per cent in five months Mr Shields says the hard work of staff at the school is being recognised in the local community.
"I believe it is our positive respect culture, high quality teaching and leadership that makes such a difference," he said.
I believe it is our positive respect culture, high quality teaching and leadership that makes such a difference.
- Tim Shields, Principal
"During the pandemic parents and carers watched learning happening through home schooling and not only did they learn about how teachers taught they learnt about how their children absorbed lessons.
"They saw content and teaching methods - everyone was learning so to speak and sometimes they also saw the difference between schools.
"I believe our consistency between teachers and their authentic approach really shone out during the home schooling periods."
As a result of these successes, Mr Shields also appeared as a winner on The Educator's Hot List in 2021.
As to the future he said the college site was originally designed for 350 students with the double-storey classroom block now being planned for the front part of the site.
The college's pre class room is undergoing renovation and a new food tech classroom is also in the mix.