Principal's Reflection - 16 October

Please Keep Our Year 12 Students in Mind

Week 4 marks the start of the Year 12 external examinations, a very important time for our Year 12 students. As such, next Friday we will send them off with a colour run, and when their examinations are complete, we will celebrate their journeys and achievements at the Formal Worship, Formal and Graduation Service. On Monday evening this week, Mr Taylor led a Year 11 into Year 12 information evening for parents and caregivers of 2027 Year 12 students, and he said something very relevant to our current Year 12 students too. He noted that there are times during Year 11 and Year 12 when students should dial down the time spent at part-time jobs, parties and trips away, and dial up the time spent studying. The next four weeks are definitely that time. It is very important to maintain some relaxation and leisure time, but if there was ever a time to really focus on study, now is that time.

The end of Year 12 is exciting, but also a time of stress and anxiety as our students undertake the external examinations. I ask that our community keep our Year 12 students in their thoughts, and for those accustomed to praying, in their prayers, too, over the next four weeks. 

Acknowledging Our Founders

On Monday, we celebrated Foundation Day. While Foundation Day is actually 30 October, by then our Year 12 students are undertaking their examinations, so in recent years we have celebrated the birthday of the School a little early. On this day, we hold a Worship service during which we congratulate long-serving members of our staff; we have a whole-school sausage sizzle and cupcakes; and we finish the day with the now-traditional Battle of the Baton. Students from Prep through to Year 12 compete in the Battle of the Baton for the glory of their House. For the second year in a row, every single House broke the existing record. Over almost 20 minutes of running, only 8 seconds separated first and second. Ultimately, Browning took out the Battle of the Baton for the second year in a row. Well done, Browning. 

It is really important that we give thanks for the small group of volunteers who gave their time, skills and effort to build St Luke’s from an idea into a reality. As such, each year we acknowledge the first School Council, the clergy and parishioners of Christ Church at the time, and the initial volunteers who gave so much of themselves in the founding of the School. Since then, many people have carried the School forward through dedicated efforts, volunteering, and support for St Luke’s, playing a tremendous role in building the School into what it is today. It was a pleasure to acknowledge several St Luke’s staff members for their many years of service. Among them were Mrs Kirstine Gill and Mrs Susan Wilson, who join Mrs Leanne Hutching in the elite club of staff who have served St Luke’s for 30 years or more. Congratulations, Mrs Gill and Mrs Wilson.

Thank you for your ongoing support of our School.

Mr Matthew Hughes

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