The last two weeks have been hectic but a joyous time. This week saw the Community, Care and Camp Program come to fruition. Next term, I will share the outcome of this special week. I was very disappointed that I was unable to share Grandparents, Godparents and Guardians celebrations the week before. This day was a very simple way for our students to say ‘thank you’ for being in their lives.
It was wonderful to have so many grandparents and significant adults attend and share in the day. Thank you to all who attended, surrounding the girls with a community of caring adults, reinforcing the notion that they are supported and valued.
As a school we value a grandparent's presence in a grandchild’s life because a grandparent is a treasure who can provide stability, wisdom and love and enrich a child's world in countless ways. Grandparents bridge the past and the present and provide a sense of continuity and belonging and offer a wealth of life experience.
The wisdom of grandparents is like a compass, which helps find a child’s way through life's complex journey. A grandparent’s love is unconditional, a friend to whom a child can talk and laugh with and a role model of kindness, humour and patience.
Thank you also to the significant adults, who attended - aunts, uncles, godparents, or family friends, who provide additional layers of support and perspectives. These adults can offer mentorship, introduce new ideas, and sometimes, be the ones children turn to when they need someone outside the immediate family to talk to.
The benefits of these relationships are mutual. For grandparents and significant adults, engaging with children, I’m sure, brings a sense of purpose and joy. It keeps you connected, active, and mentally stimulated which benefits both sides.
Grandparents and significant adults are essential, as they provide love, wisdom, and stability, acting as anchors in a child's life and embody that old adage that "it takes a village to raise a child."
I know the girls and staff loved performing in the interhouse Verse Speaking competition which offered so many challenges - understanding the nuances of poetry, learning, and reciting a poem and presenting in unison. These performances do not happen without the dedication and guidance of all the house teachers. This type of learning is not common, so for both the girls and the teachers, the competition offers some form of challenge. However, as role models, the teachers accept the challenge of the competition and plan, prepare, and support the girls in their house to present their very best efforts as a verse speaking choir. Thank you to Maree Clancy, who kindly volunteered to do the difficult job of judging. Congratulations to Chaucer who took out the event.
Thank you also to all the visitors who stayed to watch the interhouse Ballgames competition and to the HPE staff for their organisation of this sporting event and Mrs Mace for presenting the Mace Cup to the winning house Tennyson.
To the visitors, thank you for purchasing many books at the book fair. A percentage of the sales goes towards purchasing more books for our library, so both the girls’ home library and school library benefitted from the purchases.
I wish everyone a happy, warm holiday and look forward to everyone returning safely in Term 3.
Angela Drysdale