A message from Ms Hargreaves

As you are obviously aware, Term 4 has been a very difficult term for many members of the Chelsea Heights staff. It really makes one step back and reassess what is important in life – being a good and kind person, and having good and kind people around you. This difficult time has made us all realise how fortunate we are at Chelsea Heights PS – we have a community of good and kind people, who are good and kind to each other.

I truly believe that a big mistake was made at the start of this term by communicating the message that it is ‘business as usual’ at CHPS. If it was ‘business as usual’ then that would imply that the staff members who are going through such difficult times are not important or highly valued. This is rather, a difficult time for our school and for our community. The people who are absent are important and are highly valued – important to our students, important to our teachers and staff and important to our parents.

So how do we ensure that the year finishes as wonderfully as it starts? We STAND UP! My message at assembly reminded the students about the core of CHPS and invited them to stand up for what makes CHPS community members so special. We are people of GOOD CHARACTER, who show KINDNESS and implement SELF CONTROL.

Below is the speech from assembly if you were unable to attend, including the lovely letter we received from Jane. I would encourage you to read it and have deep and meaningful discussions with your family about each of the values.

I know everyone at CHPS will STAND UP! As it deeply matters to all of us.

Kind regards,

Paris Hargreaves

Assembly Speech

As you all know, Ms Satchwell has been away because of the illness of her husband Neil. I am so excited to be able to read to you a letter we have received from her…

Letter from Jane Satchwell:

Hello boys and girls,

It’s been a long time since I’ve seen you. Can I say that I have missed you enormously – it’s like not having my family around me. Thank you so much for your kind thoughts, I am going through a very difficult time as you all know, however let me say that we are coping and that it is so much easier to cope knowing that good people have good thoughts for us.

I take comfort knowing that you will all be helping the teachers as much as you can in this difficult time when I am not there. Every school needs a leader, and I am very grateful for Ms Licciardo, Ms Garrow and Mr Jackson, who have all stood up. But they could not do that alone and I am sure they are very pleased with the way you have all been helping and behaving to make this possible.

During this period, I have had a lot of time to reflect on the year so far and about what is truly important. Sometimes you don’t find that out until you are in such difficult times… I have learnt that you need friends around you and a family and community that are there for you. That is what Chelsea Heights is for me.

I am still not sure when I will be back, but I hope the rest of the year goes on well and I will ensure that I keep in touch with you. I cannot wait to be back.

Warmest regards,

Ms Satchwell

Assembly Speech cont...

Wow – how nice is that. I think we really needed to hear from Ms Satchwell and know how she was going. Life is a crazy thing – one minute you are enjoying your holidays in Bali, and next minute… well you know what happened. The same goes for Mr Tudball. It makes us really appreciate the life we have been given and the connection we have with one another. As you have seen, losing people in our community can be destabilising. But I feel really proud that Ms Satchwell is really proud of us.

Whilst my absence was by no means as serious as Ms Satchwell’s or Mr Tudball’s or Ms Allsep’s, I too have had a week off and it was quite a lonely time. It meant so much to me to have parents and teachers message me in support and wish me a speedy recovery. It really made me reflect on our wonderful school, this community we call Chelsea Heights Primary School and the values we stand up for. Not just what we stand for, but more importantly, what we stand UP for.

So what does CHPS stand up for? I sat down and thought about it… We have all been trying to get the school through such a difficult time. Teachers are taking on lots of jobs, there are CRTs supporting the classroom, students are dealing with change and newness… so that tells me Chelsea Heights stands for CHARACTER. I have the strength to do the right thing, particularly in times of adversity.

I thought some more… During my time off, people went out of their way to help me with things, send messages of support, to make sure that I was getting proper care and enough time to heal and overall, just making me feel wanted. That tells me that Chelsea Heights also stands up for KINDNESS which keeps us all safe.

The other value I think Chelsea Heights stands up for, and Ms Satchwell also touched on it in her letter, is Self-Control. We need to show self-control as it makes us trust worthy and reliable. I knew that in my absence, my students would show self-control and could be relied upon to support the CRTs and continue with their learning. Ms Satchwell takes comfort knowing that in her absence, Ms Licciardo, the teachers, students and parents, can be relied upon to support each other and get the job done – that they would show self-control.

But boys and girls, these are just words unless we mean them. Now I am going to speak from my heart. You are all sitting down. But if you think you can stand up for Character and if you think you can stand up for Kindness and if you think you can stand up for Self-Control, I invite you to do that now.

I want you to know that I stand up for Character, Kindness and Self Control. Thank you to Foundation B for standing up to those values. Thank you to… And thank you to…

So guess what… We are standing up for our community and we are standing up for Chelsea Heights Primary School. Boys and girls, this was being recorded. The recording will be put away for safekeeping as we have just been part of a very special moment. This is part of our history. This was the day that we all stood up!

And finally now that we are all standing up, standing up for Character, Kindness and Self Control… We need to also stand up and smile. Smile because it is good for you and good for others too. Smile and shake the persons hand next to you and let us all have a good week. Thank you.