Congratulations to you all for making it through another year of challenging circumstances. We have been thrilled to bring the school back together over the last five weeks and have worked hard to deliver an enormous variety of dynamic learning experiences. I thank the staff team for their efforts in getting over 1100 students away on an overnight camp experience, the pioneering of our Virtual Art and Design Exhibition, and the multitude of local experiential learning programs which have supported the reconnection of our students in an engaging way. We are indeed fortunate to have such talented and creative staff on our team. We have loved seeing the learning come to life through performances, debates, elections, inquiries, exhibitions and journeys.
It has been great, too, to be able to start inviting parents and visitors back into the School to be a part of the learning journey for all, and we look forward to many more connection opportunities in 2022.
The transition out of lockdown has been challenging for some and we are feeling the need to rearticulate the School’s cultural values after such a period of dislocation. Next year we will take the opportunity to reset on uniform now that shops are open and it is possible to purchase unforms that fit. We will reset our expectations around haircuts now that it is possible to get to a hairdresser, and we will invest deeply in the value of respect to ensure all members of our community are respecting others, the buildings and environments we visit and work in and themselves through encouragement to be the best we can be every day.
I thank everyone who over the past 12 months who has contributed to keeping our community together and strong. We farewell several staff who have made a wonderful contribution to our school over the years and I thank them for all that they have done for educating our children. With these departures comes the opportunity to invite new talent into our team and, I must say, I have been so excited by the ideas and energy we have seen on display through our selection and induction processes. We look forward to all they will bring to our school in 2022.
I wish you all a wonderfully refreshing Christmas break and look forward to making contact with you all again over the break as the VCE results are released on 16 December and the IB results on 3 January 2022.
Thank you all for your efforts in supporting the community through 2021, we look forward with optimism to a year of great achievement from all in 2022.
Merry Christmas.
Jonathan Walter
Principal
