From the Principal - Edition 3 - 2020

Every weekend sees very large numbers of our students swap their School uniforms for their sports uniforms and play sport for School. These students are making the most of opportunities presented through their sport where, individually and in teams, they learn more about themselves and of what they are capable. Westminster abounds with these opportunities for every member of our community to enjoy, and last weekend showcased this particularly well.

Friday night saw the Years 7 and 8 students and parents gather for a family barbeque. In the past, this barbeque has focused on Year 8 as the main gateway into our Senior School. This year, we were delighted to invite our Year 7 families too. It was a great night and fantastic to see our new parents being welcomed into our community by existing families, while our Year 12 School Leaders helped all the Year 7s and 8s organise games and enjoy each other’s company.

On Saturday, I had the pleasure of watching most of our Girls’ Volleyball teams play and our First XI come agonisingly close to winning their game on the Main Oval. Then, on Sunday, our sailors raced at Goolwa and competed really well. While there were the experienced sailors amongst them, a number of young sailors were participating in their first regatta for Westminster and showed great promise. This magical blend of experience and potential made for a great event and is truly exciting for the future of our sailing program.

Following a regatta, it becomes the responsibility of all sailors from all schools to help pack up the boats. It is expected everyone will pitch in, regardless of who owns the boats. It was during the pack up that I saw the most outstanding moment of a great weekend. It was quite simple - while some other teams had stopped working and sat down for their own debriefing, the Westminster sailors kept working. Without any prompting, they looked for jobs that needed to be done and collectively ensured that they did not stop until the pack-up was complete. Only then did they sit down for a debrief. In doing this, our students encapsulated our theme for the year, which is be useful. Their teamwork, collaboration and capacity to see what needed to be done next was a display of initiative and thoughtfulness. They showed characteristics that are not only commendable, but also essential to being successful in life.

In short, the weekend showcased how to make the most of each and every opportunity, even when it meant that there was some hard work involved. Appreciating the many fine qualities of our students, I am sure we will see plenty more weekends just like the one that passed.

Simon Shepherd
Principal