Foundation Day 2017

Future Founders

It is with joy and pride we celebrate together this special event in the life of our school.

I am overwhelmed by the sense of occasion both professionally and personally. For me, the word foundation is a perfect analogy between building a home and building a happy life. The foundations of any structure are the most important part. Strength and durability depend upon those foundations. Also, the size, length, breadth and height are determined by the foundations; even the inner walls which go to make rooms are dependent on the original foundations.

The foundations of our lives comprise of our principles and values. These come from deep within the soil of who we are. A video I shared with staff on the first day back this year highlighted this and staff would remember that principles and values are the WHY’s in our lives or the foundations that direct our WHAT’s, which are the purpose and actions. The point of the video being that “when you know your 'why' then your 'what' has more impact, because you're working towards your purpose.”.

A tall building of weight needs to have strong foundations if it is to stand for a long time.

This school started from the principles and values of just a few, that were deeply important to them for education in this area, more than 13 years ago. These values directed them to lay foundations on this site that were strong and so that they would stand for a long time.

As the years have gone by, the foundations have shared and transferred the load between the school and its growth. From small beginnings and in 13 years we have all of this today. An impressive array of facilities, grounds, buildings, gardens and so much more, we are indeed lucky. Foundations though are more than bricks and mortar.

I started here in mid-Jan with every intention and many plans to lay strong foundations with this community; students, staff, families - everyone. I understood that in order to stand the test of time, I needed to build my foundations strong and true. Within weeks, as most of you know, I became ill with heart failure and was away from the school in Term 1; whilst I recovered. During this time, some of the foundations of my personal and professional life were tested. When I needed the foundations my friendships to be strong, I was shocked to see that some were shallow and others poorly constructed. It was not easy to see these crumble. However, I am fortunate I have family foundations that are laid deep and made of titanium. These proved to be all I needed and I stand here today; happy, healthy and excited to be back.

The foundations in all our lives are the relationships we have with those around us. Without good and meaningful relationships, we cannot exist as humans. These relationships allow us to share and transfer the weight of the loads we carry. The foundations of this school are not the buildings that have been built but the relationships between the people who worked so hard to have them built and the people who continue to build them.

We talk about relationships a lot at this school and for me coming back this term, my number one priority is to lay new foundations. Build the relationships with each and every one of you so that I can share and transfer the weight of our collective WHY’s and WHAT’s for this school.

Each day when I arrive at school, I think about the relationships I am going to build and then I make sure I do this by being present and in the moment. I enact this by smiling and saying hello when I see you, by initiating conversations with you to get to know you, by actively listening when you talk, by taking time to celebrate and acknowledge the things you do, by having a laugh with you, having informal lunches with you, by teaching a class with you and by shifting my view from inwards to outwards so I can truly see you.

I know that it will take time for me to build relationships that will be deep and strong but I know that it is worth every minute as it is the only way we can strengthen the foundations we have and be founders of the future.

I encourage each student to see yourselves as founders in this school. Your WHY’s are to build relationships - foundations - so that your WHAT’s, which are our school core values have more impact because you are walking towards your purpose.

As a founder then, when you come to school I want you to join me in being present in the moment and enact this by:

Smiling at others when you see them
Complimenting each other on the good things you do
Displaying gratitude and saying thank you
Going up to those you don’t know in order to get to know them.

Next year on Foundation Day, we will celebrate together again and marvel at the impressive array of facilities, grounds, new buildings, gardens and so much more.

When we come together at our assembly we will feel our foundations have grown deeper and stronger because we have become founders, connected through the daily relationship building.

A school of honour and excellence needs to have strong foundations if it is to stand a long time.

Happy Foundation Day to one and all.

Honoris et excellentia.

Plaque Unveiling

We were privledged to have The Honourable Member for Farrer Ms Sussan Ley officially open our Resource Centre.

Ms Ley encouraged students to make the most of the opportunities available to them in an educational setting such as Moama Anglican Grammar before unveiling the plaque. She implored students to "Do what you love, and love what you do", for her this was a fascination with combustion engines and flying. She reinforced how valuable positive teachers are to student outcomes.

Distinguished Board Service

Today our Board Chair Craig Smith presented an award for Distinguished Board Service to Fran Galvin OAM. Fran was an integral member of the original steering committee and Foundation Board Member.

She was "hands on", performing a multitude of tasks which enabled the school to flourish.

You may have noticed our beautiful floral arrangements which included blooms from the School garden on Kirchhofer Street. This garden was first planted by Fran Galvin OAM and students in 2008. How different it looks now!

Foundation Day Cup

Our students continued to celebrate Foundation Day by contesting the "Cup". It was really special to see Kindergarten through to Year 12 students taking part in a number of activities including:

Tunnel Ball
Primary Sac Race
Bean Bag Toss
Hula hoop comp
Footy Kick
Tug of War
Soccer Goal
Basketball
Lobster Catch

Each house endeavoured to earn the most points to take out the Foundation Day Cup. Congratulations to Perricoota House for taking out the 2017 win and also to our hotly contested Foundation Day Gift winners!

Primary Girls:

1st - Isabella Jachim

2nd - Sienna Quinlan

3rd - Jenna Montgomery

Primary Boys:

1st - Sam Edgar

2nd - Riley Williams

3rd- Dithira Abeywardena

Secondary Girls:

1st - Laura Kadri

2nd - Poppy Palmer

3rd - Alannah Gilmore