Letter from the Editor

Welcome to 2026, and the first edition of the letter from the editor. For new readers, this has been traditionally been a less formal, unfiltered version of a principal's report from the Editor of the Gazette. This once a month column has been such fun to take part in across the last 12 months and I am grateful to have the opportunity to have a bit of fun again in 2026- Besides; I'm the editor, who's going to take it out of here!

I hope you've enjoyed watching the Winter Olympics, or as someone pointed out to me, a celebration of different forms of sliding. Some of you may remember my story last year of how I took my wife skiing, and whilst there are some parallels between our time on the mountain and the broadcast of elite athletes sliding down the magnificent hills of Milano Cortina, I can safely say I won't be looking for an entry into the 2030 winter games.

I'm a sports buff. If there is something competitive, I'm watching it. Usually I like boring sports, like golf, test cricket and motor sport (boring to some, but those 8 hour broadcasts have me firmly connected to the couch at home) but one thing I love is an Olympics. I love the dedication of athletes who work day in, day out for a shot at standing on the top step of the podium in their selected events. The best part is; there are so many new sporting heroes that we learn about and then write pleading letters to Sanitarium to have them on the next run of WeetBix boxes. I do find myself imensely proud of these athletes and how well Australia does on the world stage. 

I find it incredibly humbling to consider an athletes journey to the Olympics, especially in these Winter games. We saw the withdrawal of two (that I can remember) senior Australian athletes in the weeks coming up to the games (Cam Boulton and Laura Peel) due to injuries sustained in training for their respective events. To be fair, they are faced with the reality of racing 3 others down a tight snowboard cross track at speeds in excess of 70km/h, or jumping 10 meters into the air and performing a full-triple full full (that's 3 backflips with 5 full twists to the uninitated). Their resilence and mental strength to be able to handle the emotional stress of the ups and downs of the life of a professional athlete is something to behold.

So if you're a student out there, my message is pretty simple. Be brave. Dream big and work towards your goals. Get out of bed in the morning with purpose and don't let setbacks stop your progress. 

You got this.

Jack Lynch

Editor 

PS: I know there are many students out there doing awesome things. See our 'something to celebrate' page across the year to see the awesome things out Heathmont College community does.