A Welcome to Term Two
May I wish all students, their families and staff a warm welcome to Term Two.
Our students have returned in their winter uniforms and I am sure their warmer clothing has been appreciated on our recent chilly mornings.
Term Two is a term where students are focussed on forthcoming examinations and staff are especially busy overseeing examinations and preparing end of semester Reports. I wish students and staff well as they prepare for these important assessments.
It was a pleasure to have Reverend Peter Laurence, Chief Executive Officer of the Anglican Schools Commission, visit the School early in the term.
Reverend Laurence visited the School on the first day of NAPLAN assessment which was also the day of the delivery of the Federal Government’s Budget for the 2013-2014 financial year, being a Budget of particular importance for the financial planning for Australian schools in the years ahead.
The conjunction of these two events was a reminder of the important link that schools have to the development of our society. One of the truly significant social changes of the last 150 years has been the recognition of the importance of a society providing opportunities for all of its citizens to receive an education. It is for that reason that Australian governments have sought to support not only the government education system, but to also support schools within the independent schools system that have long been a feature of Australian schooling. The introduction of NAPLAN testing in recent years indicates the connection between the Federal government’s education policy and the provision of funding to Australian schools, as does the more recent introduction of the Australian curriculum.
These policy and financial considerations are vitally important for all schools. However, of greater importance is that schools demonstrate a commitment to their students as unique individuals whose education and learning is central to the development of their potential. As we begin another term it is vital to remember the eternal significance of valuing the worth of all of our students. For in recognising this worth, we are reminded of the great moral and human imperatives that lie within the education of a student. As has been observed many times the education of an individual student today inevitably touches the future for us allP.
Julian Dowse