From the Acting Principal 

It Takes a Village to Raise a Child

Yesterday I joined in with two classes that were underway in the Resource Centre. The first class I attended was the HSC Extension English class (our current Year 11s have commenced their HSC studies) in our Harkness Room and it was so interesting seeing how their teacher, Ms Hildebrand, introduced the relevant skills to plan out a piece of creative writing using visual, sound, touch and taste (yes – all four senses!) to formulate a piece of creative writing and then make connections between their writing now with how they would successfully produce a similar piece of writing in the final HSC examinations. As well as the students, I too enjoyed being part of the learning journey that Ms Hildebrand took the class on.

The second class I attended was Ms Height’s Year 5 IPT class where students were in the research phase of creating their own APP. I was honoured to assist a group of students who are working on creating a dog training APP – something close to my heart. I was particularly impressed with how these students, Sienna, Charli, Charlese and Keisha, knew exactly what they required to create an APP and articulate the relevant terminology and what research they needed to undertake. Another great learning journey facilitated by their teacher for the students and myself!

These two classes highlighted just two of many examples of the high standard of the Moama Anglican Grammar community of learning. Our community of learning is exceptional, and I believe it is something that stands out amongst the schools in our region. That we all get to experience a community of learning from Kinder right through to Year 12 on one site is unique and so beneficial in many ways for our students, staff and families. When I asked one of our teachers recently what they would say to parents and carers about what stands out about our school they immediately replied, “we know your child”. That we certainly do, and that is because our focus is on being a community - not just a school.

As the saying goes “it takes a village to raise a child”. Wikipedia defines this saying as a “proverb which means that it takes an entire community of different people interacting with children in order for children to experience and grow in a safe environment.” Moama Anglican Grammar is that village.

I am missing wandering regularly around the grounds of our school, cared for so beautifully by our groundsmen, Dean and John. With a recovering broken leg and still on crutches I miss witnessing, on a daily basis, the enthusiasm and engagement of students as you pass by classrooms and outside class activities. From Kinder to HSC, our students are regularly participating in inspiring learning communities created by our band of exceptional teachers who are the cornerstones of our village, and it is a privilege to work and learn in this village. 

Part of the Moama Anglican Grammar village is the community members that form our School Board and earlier today I was honoured to join them and our new and outgoing Principals (Scott Downward and Carmel Spry, respectively) in a review of our current Strategic Plan. Being on a School Board is a volunteer role and Board members devote considerable time and energy bringing their unique skillset to oversee the governance of our school and we are very lucky and grateful to have such a committed team of individuals as part of the Moama Anglican Grammar Village.

Kathleen Kemp

Acting Principal