Flexibility is the Key

It’s not the strongest species that survive, nor the most intelligent, but the one’s most responsive to change. Charles Darwin

A mind is a flexible mirror, adjust it to see a better world. Amit Ray

It’s hard to believe how quickly the year has flown by, yet when I reflect on the incredible number of school events we have managed to squeeze in, it’s easy to see why it feels that way.

We certainly have seized every opportunity to share, showcase and celebrate our learning throughout the year with our students, families and our school community.

It was great to see so many of our families attending the End of Year concert yesterday. The support of you and your families in our work has made the year a successful productive year of growth, for each of us – thank you. We are incredibly lucky to not only share a campus, but a genuine relationship of cultural exchange with JSP, who join us for many occasions and celebrations over the year. This unique relationship capturers the inclusive nature of our school community. Thank you to JSP for joining with us to celebrate at the concert. How lucky are we to have such great mates on site!

Next week as we move closer to the end of the year our students will have the chance to participate in the whole school orientation afternoon. On Wednesday 8 December all students will spend the afternoon from 1:30pm until the end of the day, in their 2022 classrooms with their classmates. This aims to relieve any stress or anxiety that may arise over the summer break by not knowing what class they are in and who they will be with in 2022.

Our goal is to decide the best possible combination of students to create cohesive classrooms that are safe, kind and fair. We know that positive learning environments are critical for children to feel like they belong, are known, happy and successful in their learning. We’re all looking forward to a smooth orientation afternoon. Parents will be informed of their child /children’s class placements for 2022 in the afternoon of Wednesday 9 December, via email.

There has been one change to one of the proposed structures for 2022 that I shared with you in the last issue of our newsletter. This is a move from having two Kindy/Pre-primary classes, to one Kindergarten and one Pre-primary class. Please keep in mind that while we do not anticipate any major changes to the class structures and placements, enrolment numbers can fluctuate and circumstances may change. So…flexibility is the key to a smooth start in 2022.

It always amazes me that so many of the best things are kept til last! I returned from being on camp with the Year 6 group last Friday, a very proud principal of our great school! It was fabulous to see, and get feedback from tour guides and other schools about how respectful our students were. Camp is only made possible by the willingness of teachers to take a group of students away and be on duty 24/7. I would like to thank Liam Gauci for organising, coordinating and leading the camp, together with Emma Webb and Thomas Beston for their incredible commitment to putting their lives on hold so that our Year 6 crew could enjoy a memorable camp experience, before heading off on their high school journeys next year.

I’m looking forward to the next couple of weeks and hope to see many of you at school for the Performing Arts concert on Thursday 9 December and Graduation in the last week of school Wednesday 15 December – so many things to look forward to!

B e     S a f e     B e     K i n d     B e     F a i r

Mari