From the Principal
It has been an emotional week for our Year 12 students as they have progressively come out of their final examinations and enjoyed that euphoric feeling of completion. I can still vividly remember walking out of my final Year 12 examination and the emotion shared with good friends. We are pleased that we have been able to organise a Formal this Friday evening, which will provide a fitting celebration of what has been a challenging year for the Year Group.
We are also looking forward to celebrating with the cohort at our Farewell Assembly at school and Valedictory Dinner at Luna Park next Wednesday 18 November. The Year 12 group have led the School with distinction this year and have demonstrated remarkable resilience and cohesion. It has been positive to note the very large number of early offers for university places that our students have received, with over 60 students having a confirmed offer at their choice of university, including 38 students at ANU.
The celebration of NAIDOC this week and the theme Always Was, Always Will Be encourages us to recognise that First Nations people have occupied and cared for this continent for over 65,000 years and that they are spiritually and culturally connected to this country. Always Was, Always Will Be acknowledges that hundreds of Nations and their cultures covered this continent. All were managing the land to sustainably provide for their future. NAIDOC 2020 invites all Australians to embrace the true history of this country – a history which dates back thousands of generations.
Whilst the impact of COVID-19 this year has meant that our Year 9 students have not been able to travel to Arnhem Land for their Indigenous cultural program, we have worked collaboratively and creatively with Culture College to develop a unique Midawarr program, that will be delivered to our Year 9 students on campus next week. The students will be linking, via technology, to Yolngu leaders on country in Arnhem Land as well as Culture College leaders here on campus. We are excited to be piloting this program with Culture College, which has the potential to support Yolngu people in their vision of expanding knowledge and understanding of their strong culture and connection to country.
Finally, congratulations to our Sailing team on their victory in the Redlands Cup last weekend, a fine performance, and all the best to our rowers who will be competing in the NSW Independent Schools Rowing Championships on Saturday.
Mr Stephen Webber
Photo caption: Congratulations to our Sailing team on their victory in the Redlands Cup last weekend, competing against teams from Riverview, Cranbrook and Wenona.