Junior School

A warm welcome back to everyone in our Myrniong learning community. I trust your school holiday break was punctuated by wonderful family time, holidays in great places, fresh air, and perhaps a few days with nothing to do and all day to do it!

My family and I enjoyed a staycation, with day trips, family visits, reading, jobs around the house and plenty of time outdoors. My holiday reading included Jacinda Ardern’s A Different Kind of Power, Allen Levi’s Theo of Golden, Sam Neill’s memoir Did I Ever Tell You This?, and Brené Brown’s Dare to Lead.

There was a wonderful quote from Theodore Roosevelt referenced by Brené Brown in Dare to Lead:

“It is not the critic who counts: not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles or where the doer of deeds could have done better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly, who errs and comes up short again and again, because there is no effort without error or shortcoming, but who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions, who spends himself in a worthy cause; who, at the best, knows, in the end, the triumph of high achievement, and who, at the worst, if he fails, at least he fails while daring greatly.”

Roosevelt wrote these words in 1910, but they certainly stand the test of time. Put simply, we can all choose to actively participate in life, work and relationships rather than sitting safely on the sidelines judging others. We can have the courage to show up and be seen, even when we cannot control the outcome, when we risk failure, or when we face emotional exposure.

We can shift our focus away from the opinions of those who are not taking any real risks themselves and instead honour those who strive valiantly, make mistakes and, even when they fail, do so while trying boldly rather than playing it safe and timidly.

At this week’s Assembly, I referenced the recent Year 8 camp, which I had the great privilege of attending. On camp, Mr. Bell spoke to the students about how learning new things and physically pushing ourselves can be hard, and how our brains are hardwired to look for the easiest way to do things. Learning new skills requires time and effort as we build new pathways in our brains. It is okay to feel uncomfortable when faced with challenges; in fact, we need to become comfortable with being uncomfortable.

Life does begin at the end of our comfort zones. Wishing everyone a tremendous Term Four.

Dare to Dream Jr

Seven more sleeps until Dare to Dream! The excitement is building as we head into performance week. The students cannot wait to take to the stage for our dress rehearsal next Wednesday, followed by our two evening performances on Thursday and Friday.

There are still tickets available, so come along, bring the family and enjoy the show. I am sure you will be thoroughly entertained and, more importantly, very proud of our students.

A letter was sent to parents via Toddle on Wednesday outlining what next week will look like and what is required. There will be some changes to timetables and routines, and your support in ensuring our students are organised, prepared and ready for the production will be greatly appreciated.

Uniform and hats

We are currently in our traditional two-week uniform changeover window, during which students can choose to wear either their summer or winter uniform. Hats however are compulsory and should remain at school on hooks or in lockers, ready for recess and lunch.

From Monday 19 October, all students must be in summer uniform. A reminder that the Uniform Shop is open on Tuesdays 8.30 am – 4.30 pm and Thursdays 12.00 pm – 4.00pm at the Senior Campus.  The P&F Secondhand Uniform Shop will be open every Wednesday 3.30 pm – 4.00 pm during Term Four.

Equestrian Success

Congratulations to Year 5 student Lyla Woolston, who competed in the Australia Interschool National Championships in the recent school holidays. Lyla competed for Victoria with her horse ‘Skye’. The Victorian team were victorious. Lyla placed first in the Teams and Primary Novice Teams categories, and third in the Individual Novice category. Lyla competes in the Australian Dressage Championship this weekend at Boneo Park. Well done Lyla an dgood luck for this weekend.