From the Acting Headmaster

I want to start this message with my appreciation for the warm comments sent over the past week. It indicates the value we place on people within and beyond the Blue Mountains Grammar School community. Some have not met me, yet many of you communicated with me with good wishes without reservation. For that, I am thankful.

Your gesture got me thinking about the importance of being thankful and showing gratitude. Simply put, 'gratitude' is to take deliberate time to think about some of the positive things in your life rather than ruminating just on the negatives. And research is showing that it is perhaps the single most powerful method of increasing happiness. As adults and role models for our children, everything we say and everything we do says something about what we value. 

There is no doubt that some things draw away our energy. Some of these are significant life moments, and they can demand a lot of us. At times they feel like they will go on forever. The research suggests that even then, gratitude can positively impact health, improve relationships, and increase productivity. Modelling gratitude to our children is a gift that will benefit them and their communities. It is like the proverbial gift that keeps on giving.

Maybe you can speak with your children about what you are grateful for this week. It might be your family, your work or our school. At certain times the world gives us a stark mirror against which we can measure our situation. This week, the news shows the projected impact of rising electricity prices for some of the most vulnerable, the effect of the war in Ukraine, and the devastating news to come out of Robb Elementary School in Texas. 

In the midst of all that, moments of gratitude ring more loudly in my ears. I am grateful for our community, students, staff, and Mr Maynard's contribution to Blue Mountains Grammar School. To be asked to be in the role of Acting Headmaster was something I did not expect in my second term. Still, I am grateful that, as a community, we will deliberately walk with hopeful expectations. 

Please let me repeat - everything we say, everything we do says something about what we value - and Blue Mountains Grammar School has and will continue to value each other.

Thank you for the important part you will play. 

Mr Steven Coote

Acting Headmaster