A Note from Nelson

Term 2 is quickly drawing to a close. It has been a full term thus far; the School mostly survived the record rainfall on 10 May (except for the Morris Administration office), but did not fare so well with the record winds ten days later, with one of the large windows in the Clemes Library suffering as a result. Luckily our maintenance team was right on top of it all, getting it cleaned up and new windows replaced within days. Thanks are in order for all who assisted and maintained flexibility during these weather events.

Student performances have also been a highlight of this term. Shrek was wonderfully fun for the audience and I hope equally fun for the student performers. There were many memorable scenes from the show that will stay with me for a very long time. Congratulations to all staff and students involved. We were also treated to a concert with the assistance of a visiting musician who worked with our students. Associate Professor BJ Brooks from West Texas A&M University was at School for a week working with Paul Radford, Marg Reid and other staff as well as our students. The concert on Friday 1 June was fantastic. Thank you, Paul, for initiating this very valuable program on behalf of our students. June 7 was the Sings and Strings concert featuring our string ensembles and choirs. Congratulations to all students involved.

As part of Reconciliation Week, Clemes students, along with some High School and Morris students, heard from Mick Gooda. Mick served as the Australian Human Rights Commission's Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner from 2009 to 2016.

Clemes' focus on social justice continued throughout Term 2 with the Friendly Conference, a student-run set of activities and speakers, which this year focused on the theme “What is Australia’s responsibility to refugees?”. As part of The Friendly Conference, The Peter Underwood Peace & Justice Lecture was held, with Gillian Triggs as this year’s guest speaker. Gillian served as the President of the Australian Human Rights Commission from 2012 until July 2017. Gillian challenged our students to get the facts correct, think clearly and to become actively involved, responsible citizens of Australia. Perfect advice for our emerging adults.

I want to share some initial observations from the Quaker Values Committee, a committee of Quakers from throughout Australia who visited the School over the extended Annual General Meeting of the Association weekend in mid-May. Although the Quaker Values Committee has not yet formalised their report to the Board, they did share a verbal report at their joint meeting on Saturday 19 May. One member shared that through their visit to the School on Friday 18 May, it was apparent that we are putting into practice our concern "for the academic, cultural, physical, social, emotional and spiritual development" of the students in our care.

I hope everyone is able to find some time to spend with family during the upcoming term break. I will be travelling to Cooranbong, NSW to represent The Friends' School at the Australian Quakers Yearly Meeting to be held between 7-14 July. Quakers from around Australia will gather to meet, renew spiritual wellbeing and discern issues important to Quakers. By then we will have ‘turned the corner' and the days will start to grow longer once again.

All the best,

Nelson File