Principal's Reflection - 8 November

Thanking our Supporters

This week, we held our annual Supporter Appreciation Evening, which is a small token of our appreciation for all those who volunteer their time or give of their skills and talents, those who support the School financially, and those who open up their homes to host international exchange students. People who are willing to do these things certainly enrich the experience of students at St Luke’s. Our volunteers, donors and School supporters are a reminder to me that St Luke’s is much more than a school. 

There are many ways in which people who want to can support St Luke’s. A perfect example of this is the Meilene Community Garden—a project that a small group of volunteers were able to bring to life, under the guidance and leadership of Mr Matthew Cathcart, and with the support of Elders, Woolworths and many other local donors. Since the completion of the garden, the School has received multiple requests to volunteer to help maintain and expand the garden. What a wonderful example of service learning in action. It was a pleasure to listen to students speak at the opening and hear the pride in their voices as they talked and gave tours. 

If you would like to support the St Luke’s community in some manner, I invite you to contact the School. We are always looking for new volunteers and homestay families. 

Farewell to the Class of 2024

The week ahead is an important one. After 13 years of formal education, we will celebrate the graduating class of 2024 as they embark on new adventures. Right now, to students who are 17 and 18 years old, the last 13 years is a large and significant part of their lives. As they progress through life, the time spent in school will become relatively smaller, but it is my hope that it will never lose its significance. Our aim at St Luke’s is to help students establish a platform, academically, socially and spiritually, that will help them live a life of their choosing, one that brings them a great deal of satisfaction and joy. 

The origins of the word farewell are rather obvious, a contraction of the words fare and well. If we dig a bit deeper we find that fare has its origins in the Old English word faren, or faran, which means “to journey”. So when we farewell people, we are wishing them all the best on their journey. Farewell was originally used as the fancy way of saying goodbye, when someone was leaving on a literal journey. The journey our Year 12s are leaving on is a more figurative one, the journey of the rest of their lives. We certainly wish them all the best, but we hope it isn’t the last time we see them. On Friday our Year 12 students will officially become “Old Saints”, and we hope that they stay connected with the School and share with us the significant parts of their journeys.

Members of our community who wish to be part of the celebration can see the Year 12 students in all their finery at Buss Park from 4.00 - 5.00 pm on Wednesday 13 November, and then catch their arrivals at Brothers Sports Club from 6.00 - 6.30 pm. 

Staff Updates

It is my pleasure to inform our community of the following appointments:

• Mrs Natasha Higgins will act in the position of Deputy Head of Primary - Teaching and Learning while Mrs Mandy Robinson is Head of Primary

• Ms Jen Conway has been appointed as Acting Head of Faculty - English and Languages

• Mrs Kate Sinclair has been appointed as Acting Head of Faculty - Humanities and Ethics & Faith

• Mr Alex Wimmer is our new Head of Hoog House

• With Ms Conway’s appointment, above, Mr Mitch Smith will act as Head of Morris House 

Thank you for your ongoing support of our School.

Matthew Hughes

Principal