From the Principal's Desk

Amongst the mountain of consumed chocolate and Hot Cross buns, I hope the Easter long weekend provided a moment for your family to slow down and come together in ways that the crowded weeks of Term do not allow.

The traditions and customs of this time of year are deeply ingrained in our culture and society. As a secular school, and particularly at a time when we have recently celebrated Harmony Day, we need to be sensitive to those in our community for whom the religious elements of Easter remain central. Thus, the R for Respect and the C for Community within our HEROIC Core Values continue to be acknowledged through the period of Easter.

As always, we delighted in the Pre-Kindergarten to Year 2 Easter Hat Parade. The children and their families made this special… and the photos tell the story so well.

And of course, the visit of Easter Bunny created a slice of magic to the day…

I trust you all enjoyed the long weekend of delightful weather and made time to focus on family and the traditions your family have established. 

With the end of term in sight, there are still assessments to be written and a continuing program of academic expectations for all. I want to see a strong focus until the final bell.

As this will be the final edition of HouseNews for Term 1, I wish you all a well-deserved break after a hectic eleven weeks of term. There is much to celebrate. Students have engaged with a multitude of opportunity and there are many high points for students. With the end of term, all should be reflecting on their approach to learning, and I ask that parents take time to discuss how the new term will be embraced. Years 7 and 11 have the added benefit of Parent-Teacher meetings for this time of reflection whilst Year 12 have come out of a sustained time of key assessments. Each day is crucial to their journey through the final year of schooling. 

The ANZAC Services for both the Junior and Secondary Schools, together with the significant community support our Cadets provide on ANZAC Day always make us proud. I hope many of you will support our Cadets and our musicians, and Marching Band as they take their place in services at dawn at Manly Dam, and then Brookvale, Avalon, and the final and highly moving dusk service on Collaroy Beach. Each of these fine young people are keenly aware of their role and how, over the years, Pittwater House has demonstrated our unique role on the Northern Beaches.

Our first edition of HouseNews next Term will bring visual representation of these services. 

The holiday period sees almost one hundred of our cadets go on bivouac. In advance I thank the Officer Commanding of the Cadet Corps, Captain Blackwell, together with the cadet staff Mrs Thomas and Mr Sharma for supporting this great opportunity for our students. 

Please take time over the holiday recess to take stock, and in the way of our secondary wellbeing programme, use the GEM acronym… be grateful, empathetic, and mindful as you go about your days.

With every good wish.