Principal's Report

On reflecting at their time at school, school camps are often referred to by students as one of their significant highlights.  With the year 7 camp happening this week and the year 8 camps heading off next week, I know our students will be forming friendships and creating memories that will continue with them right through secondary school and beyond.  I’d like to thank all the staff who are giving up significant time with their own families to attend these camps and offer these experiences and opportunities to our students.  I also want to wholeheartedly thank the administration staff who have pulled the camps together – this is a massive task and it is done very well every time.

The memories we create at school are significant and meaningful as we grow into adulthood.  Beyond camps, there are so many other experiences that are offered to Warrnambool College students to ensure they become the well-rounded, wonderful people that we know will positively contribute to our community, nation and world.  Perhaps it’ll be a memory from our Year 7-10 school assembly last week, where every student was hanging on the Athletics Cup results.  A huge congratulations to Flagstaff who won again, beating off an extremely gallant Hopkins house who have never achieved that sort of success on the track and field before.  Perhaps the memory will be from the two incredible women that spoke at the same assembly as they reflected on International Women’s Day, the support they’d been offered as young girls to grow into being the best versions of themselves and their hope that this support and equality can be offered to all girls and women across the world.  Or maybe a memory that may stick will be today’s sporting extravaganza where hundreds of primary school students were ably led through numerous sporting skills sessions by our Sporting Academy students who did themselves and our school proud.

It’s funny how some experiences in our lives become burnt into our memory and some float away.  The past week has drawn into sharp focus global experiences that we might not want to become memories that stick with us.  We live in a world that seems to be full of fear; where difference is pointed out rather than the similarities that hold us together.  It’s easy to reflect on the events of the past week and presume that hatred and negativity and pain are the prevailing feelings that dominate our world.  I can assure you this isn’t the case - from wandering around our school I see a lot more love, kindness and gratitude than anything else.  We do need to acknowledge that the world has challenges that are enormous in nature, but we need to approach these challenges with positivity and hope.  In my home, we regularly talk about our highs and lows of the day.  I hope that you also are able to find the time each day to ask your child how their learning is going and to share with you one good thing that happened to them at school today.  And if you get the cliched ‘nothing’ response, I’d encourage you to gently and sensitively persist.  Because I’m almost certain that something great has happened for your child at school every day and it’s these experiences that are the memories they should be carrying forward to positively influence the world we live in.

Kind Regards,

Dave Clift

Principal