From the Principal - Edition 9 - 2019

We’re nearly at the end of Term 2 and I have been reflecting on how we could possibly match the successful conclusion of Term 1 and the School musical. Following this week, I think we can proudly say we did. This week provided us with two outstanding examples of the power of ‘giving’ in different ways.

On Wednesday night, the annual Sing Sing Sing Concert was held in the Murray Centre and it was fantastic to see and hear our vocal groups in full performance mode. Our students gave their all to us and it was fantastic to witness the passion of our Junior Choirs (who could forget I’m Still Standing!) and then to enjoy the growing confidence of our Senior students as they embraced some very sophisticated arrangements. The courage of our students, prepared to sing in front of a full house of family, friends and staff, was perhaps highlighted by four Senior School boys who used their full vocal range and more to harmonise In the Jungle. The showstopping conclusion involved a massed choir of all students, singing a soaring medley of songs from the ever-popular The Lion King while accompanied beautifully by our Dance students. With the boys hitting those high notes and the massed choir giving their all, I thought this could be our highest note of the week.

Yet those high notes reached by our singers have been matched by the generosity of our community through Thursday’s ‘Giving Day’. This time it was our turn to ‘give’ to the students as we strived to reach the quadrupled donation amount of $1,000,000 in our first ever ‘Giving Day’, directed towards our new Sports Pavilion. At lunch time, I was chased by a group of very excited Prep School Students who had just watch the live count reach the $500,000 mark. They were delighted with this, and I hope they are even more excited when they see the completed Sports Pavilion. As the day progressed, the donations kept rolling in and it was staggering to watch the total grow as our community dug deep and moved us towards our goal. Being in a Council meeting until 8.00 pm, our Council members kept checking their phones with a growing sense of excitement.

When we finish our term with an amazing concert, showcasing our students’ talents, and a ‘Giving Day’ that showcased our incredible community spirit, it is hard not to be amazed by our School. With the students giving their all on stage and then for us to give the Sports Pavilion its best shot, it is worth taking the time to reflect and be grateful at how fortunate we all are to be a part of something so much bigger than ourselves. We all work hard to provide an education, opportunities and facilities for our students to achieve more than they ever thought possible. As a community, we have all just done this with ‘Giving Day’, and Sing Sing Sing is the perfect example of what we gratefully get in return when our community is prepared to believe in our children and our School.

Giving and gratitude go hand in hand - thank you all for an amazing week and term.

Simon Shepherd
Principal