It’s been a fantastic start to the new year for staff and students. We have been delighted to see the way our students have come back from holidays refreshed and eager to make the most of the opportunities before them. We have been especially pleased to see students paying particular attention to wearing their uniform well.
The new timetable arrangements in Middle and Senior School have commenced very well with students adjusting to the 75-minute periods and Community Time, and the changes to lunchtimes have opened up more space for students to play across the School and taken the pressure off the canteen. The reduction of periods in the day has resulted in less transitions, a calmer school day and opened up opportunities for deeper learning in class.
We are really pleased as well to have added the covered space over Macafee Courts which has been well utilised as a cool all-weather space on hot days. We look forward to installing a similar cover over the Donvale court during the Easter break.
As mentioned in my start-of-year letter, we are pushing to ensure that mobile phones are kept in lockers all day or, if possible, not brought to school. Already we are seeing a great improvement in students interacting with each other around the school yard and the positive impact of less distraction in classrooms.
We are looking forward to our annual Commencement and Commissioning Service next week on Sandell Oval. We will take this opportunity to commission our Lead Chaplain, Rev. Tim Edwards. The service is a lovely whole-school opportunity to begin our year and celebrate our Christian heritage. I encourage you all to attend. Please RSVP here.
I am also looking forward to seeing many of you at the various information nights in the days ahead.
You will have received my letter alerting you to the media regarding historical abuse which is alleged to have taken place in our school in the 1980s and early 1990s. We appreciate the pain and anxiety that these matters can raise in a large community like Carey and that communication regarding these issues can be triggering for anyone who has experienced abuse. I would like to reiterate that our approach in this matter will be one of utmost transparency and our first priority is and will continue to be to provide care and compassion to those impacted. We are fully committed to addressing any challenges from the past, but are reassured in our knowledge that this is not the Carey of today – we are strongly guided by our values of care, respect and growth and continue to look forward to a bright future.
Please do not hesitate to contact me or Deputy Principals, Kate Croft and Peter Robson, for a confidential conversation should you have any concerns or information relating to this matter.
Jonathan Walter
Principal
