From the Leadership Team

Community Day

What an amazing day we had yesterday to celebrate our Community Day. A massive thank you to Mr Trend (Health & Wellbeing Coordinator) for envisioning and organising the whole day. The schedule and intent behind yesterday's activities are very much a culmination of everything we have built over the last 7 years in our wellbeing approaches. 

It was so special to see our Year 6 students flourishing in the morning with the elaborate, fun-filled Billy Kart Grand Prix and their costumes, billy kart designs, competitiveness, fun, and inclusiveness. I think many of us were moved and proud of the many girls who went across to help push our final billy kart up the hill and across the finish line and I believe it was indicative of the many beautiful, empathetic souls we are privileged to have as our students. 

It is one of those activities that has stood the test of time and is now approaching 30 years as a school tradition. 

I then had the privilege to take Dana, the creator and face of URStrong and Friendology, around our school during the period when parents were helping out in the classrooms. It was great to see so much energy and creativity on display with parents helping out in many different and unexpected ways. The URStrong team were overwhelmed by the positivity and inclusivity on display. 

We also hosted a parent-staff shared lunch in the staffroom, which is a lovely way for parents to get to know some more of our staff members in a more relaxed environment. 

And, of course, it was brilliant to see the rainbow on display as our students helped their buddies around the course that was so energetically designed, assembled and manned by our extraordinary parent volunteers. 

We see our Colour Splash as being a celebration of inclusivity and welcoming for our community. It follows soon after Harmony Day when we celebrate our cultural diversity and for our Preps, it is their first big whole-school event and is a wonderful way to welcome families into the school to participate and collaborate with our staff in order to deliver great fun for our students.  

Everyone was exhausted at the end of the day but what a day it was. Thank you to everyone who played a role in the success of our Community Day and we look forward to making it bigger and better every year.  

A Moment

Building on our day of welcoming and community, I feel it is timely to comment briefly on some of the political and social changes in recent times. 

I think many of us will be of an age when Pauline Hanson first came to our attention. As a teenager at the time in a rural, racially intolerant town, I was still horrified that such a message of division and intolerance had a place in Australian society. 

Later, my wife who is Australian-born to a Chinese-Singaporean family, told me about how during this time she was spat on in the street and told to 'go back to where you came from'. 

I'm not going to use this forum to tell people how to vote or what to think. But I do want to emphasise the importance of racial and cultural tolerance and its importance to Australian society. 

I don't believe any parent would ever want their child to feel unwelcome and I don't believe any of us would ever accept the mistreatment of others for factors beyond their control. 

I am proud and overwhelmed by how our school community can come together and I would like to highlight the bigger purpose of celebrating who we are, including our similarities and differences. 

In a time when messages of division and intolerance are becoming more common, I hope our school community can represent the better side of Australian society, one that is welcoming, inclusive and collaborative. 

School Security Holidays

If you live close by and visit or pass the school during holidays and weekends, please don't hesitate to contact the Police about any anti-social behaviour or damage that you witness. We don't advise confronting people, but the Police are very good at visiting the school for even minor reports and serve as the best deterrent we have. I think that sometimes people are reluctant to call Police because they think it is overkill, but the minor things you might witness often turn into more serious behaviour or damage once everybody is gone.