Leadership Report
As we approach the midpoint of Term 3, I want to take a moment to share some exciting updates and reflect on what's ahead. Week 5 is just around the corner, and with it comes one of my favourite events of the school year—Book Week. This year's theme, "Reading is Magic," captures the essence of what we aim to achieve: instilling a lifelong love for reading in our students.
Book Week isn't just about donning our best costumes (although it is always a highlight to see everyone's creativity). It's about celebrating the joy and wonder that books bring into our lives. We've planned a series of magical experiences. Our festivities actually kicked off today, as we hosted a captivating incursion titled "Misty's Magical Book of Discovery", a fantastic pre-curser into the week to come. The students enjoyed the theatrical performance, which was filled with magic tricks, comedy, music, and of course, the underlying message that reading is magic. There are several more exciting experiences planned, including daily storytelling sessions to our R-2 classes, delivered by some talented Year 6s, an exciting leadership reading for our 3-6s (look out for our principal in a new leading role...), a special Book Week-themed assembly, and of course, our annual dress up day with a polaroid station to capture the fun. I sincerely hope all these activities will spark excitement, enthusiasm and curiosity among our students, encouraging even the most reluctant readers to discover the magic of a good story.
Unfortunately, I won't be here to witness the festivities in person, as I’ll be embarking on an eight-week adventure across Europe starting in Week 5. While I’m incredibly excited for the journey and the opportunity for a rest, I have to admit, there’s a part of me that is quite upset to not see all the preparation come to life!
"Inside Magill" will need to take a brief hiatus during my absence, but made sure to prepare something to share before I hop on the plane. Our "Positron vs Negatron" segment is now ready to go, and this term’s episode is released independently of Inside Magill, and was designed to align with our URSTRONG program. It is all about managing a "friendship fire"—that little spark of conflict (often between friends) that, if left unchecked, can grow and spread into something much bigger and more difficult to ‘put out’. With the help of the acting prowess of our Year 6 leaders, we brought this concept to life, with the hopes of it sending an important message to our community, and equipping students with the skills and language to independently manage difficult situations. The 'twist', if you'd call it that, shows the power of hindsight, which I hope helps delivers the message in a clear and powerful way. Don't forget the parent webinar on Wednesday the 21st of August at 6pm, designed to upskill our parent community in the language and concepts of the URSTRONG program (details should have been sent via SeeSaw).
Check out the Positron vs Negatron episode below:
From Book Week to Sports Day, I wish everyone the absolute best for the remainder of Term 3. I’ll miss not only being part of these special moments, but also the day to day happenings at Magill that make our school such a vibrant and joyful place. I look forward to hearing all about them when I return.
Mike Shortt
Assistant Principal
PS: Some images from today's magic show:
