I’m always fascinated by the elasticity of time. There are events that seem like they were just yesterday, like the birth of my baby boy – now actually 23 and about to graduate from university – and other events that just happened yesterday but seem like a million years ago.
As we head rapidly to the end of the 2022 academic year, it is important to be able to reflect on and acknowledge how much growth and development has happened over the course of the year. Acknowledging endings is as important as acknowledging beginnings.
On Saturday, we will celebrate with five nativity plays, all unique and all a reflection of the children and their journey over the course of this year in their room group. We are excited to have this opportunity back after several years of streaming the performances online due to COVID-19. In 2020, the restrictions even included no singing! This year we are in full voice and delighted to be able to share with family and friends and each other as a celebration of Christmas and the end of the journey of 2022.
This event is a marker of the end of the calendar year, the end of this year’s learning journey at Carey and, for many, the end of their time in the ELC. As children move into formal schooling, they leave the security of what they know, a marker that they are entering another stage in their development. It is bittersweet, but early learning is just beginning of their educational journey, and each stage brings with it excitement and opportunity.
I’d like to express my gratitude and heartfelt thanks to all the wonderful educators: their professionalism, creativity, collegiality and compassion are evidenced daily and for this I am truly grateful. To our specialist staff, Art Mikl, Music Tim and Library Jacqui, my thanks for what you offer the children and the relationships that develop and enrich them. My sincere thanks to Kylie Baxter, Head of Junior School Kew, for her commitment to excellence in education. Her unwavering support of the ELC and of me is greatly valued.
On behalf of the ELC team, we wish you a peace-filled Christmas and a happy and safe New Year. For those returning in 2023, we look forward to celebrating Carey’s centenary and the next chapter: for the School and for your children.
Wendy Seidler
Director of ELC Kew
