OBA Groups

The OBACF met up for our annual Easter Breakfast in April, this time participating in a mini bible study led by 2018 graduate, Joshua Charles, who is currently in his second year of a ministry apprenticeship. It was encouraging to gather and hear about the message of Easter and learn from each other. We also enjoyed some

Access free mental health support as a Barker Alumni.

This year has shown us that taking care of our communities and our collective wellbeing is of absolute importance. New challenges have relied on resilience, connection, and developing skills to cope with changes. In the interest of being there for you on your journey beyond being a Barker student we want to offer you support for your mental wellbeing.

Support for Life, an initiative of the Old Barker Association that has been running for the past three years, has recently yummy pastries and a coffee before starting the day. We had a wide range of year groups represented this year which was great to see. Coming up over the next few months will be an online event to catch up with our non-Sydney friends - stay tuned for more details!

The OBACF aims to offer an opportunity for the multigenerational network of Barker Alumni to meet, connect and encourage one another in their faith journeys. We would love to grow our network even more. If you are interested in joining, please join our Facebook Group by private messaging Georgia Breckenridge (18) or contact Karina Drummond KDrummond@barker.nsw.edu.au.

Georgia Breckenridge (18)

partnered with My Mirror online psychology to provide access to three videoconferencing sessions with an experienced psychologist at no cost to you. My Mirror is a leader in “online” mental health care and provides access to skilled professionals of many demographics with focused specialisation in critical areas such as anxiety, depression, domestic violence, substance abuse, career difficulties and so much more.

My Mirror psychology sessions can be accessed from the comfort of home or from any device up to 21 hours a day, 7 days a week. These sessions are available to anyone feeling like they would benefit from talking to someone to get on track with how they are feeling and navigating life's challenges. You do not require a mental health diagnosis to access or benefit from My Mirror sessions. My Mirror psychologists use evidence-based strategies to help you build skills and strategies for resilience and agency in your life.

For more information and details on how to access these sessions please see link: https://landing. mymirror.com.au/old-barkerassociation

The entire Barker community is all in this together.

Old Barker Association is supporting you with 3 sessions with My Mirror online psychologist.

If you graduated from Barker 50 years ago you are now a member of The Old Barker Association Seniors. This is a social group who organise a number of events each year. We look forward to seeing you at our next OBA Seniors event.

If you would like further information, please contact the Alumni and Community Relations Office on (02) 8438 7283 or oba@barker.nsw.edu.au

Ian Pont (63) Honorary Secretary

North Shore Wind Symphony (NSWS) recently ventured to Newcastle to partake in the Australian National Band Championships. We competed in the Open A Grade Concert Band competition and were very pleased with our result. We had the highest score in the test piece by Australian Composer, David Stanhope, best solo in the competition, Lewis Pastars on Tuba in the Third Symphony by James Barnes, and overall 3rd place. We would like to thank the Old Barker Association for the ongoing support, event sponsors, competition organisers, and of course all of our musicians and conductor, Andrew McWade. A full recording of our performance can be accessed via brassbanned. com under Open A Grade Concert Band, starting from 06:49pm.

We have a very strong ensemble and are looking forward to the rest of the year. We encourage all Alumni to reach out via our social media pages or website if they would like to join us.

El Brimblecombe