Welcome back! We are so thrilled to be starting a new year on campus. There is so much joy in seeing old familiar faces and meeting new ones. It’s exciting to see the development of our campus with the new Year 7 & 8 centre – The Village. It’s taken a power of work from our construction team to get this new space finished for our students (and there’s still a few final touches to go). However, facilities at Heathdale don’t mean much without students and staff bringing a sense of vibrancy and purpose to them. It was fantastic to see The Village actually turn into a village today, full of students testing out the basketball courts, settling into their new classrooms and hanging out on the tables at lunch. We’re even more excited about how the space will mould around them over time.
Now, I am not known for being particularly sentimental, but I must admit that the start and end of the school year always tugs at my heart strings a bit. Those milestone moments of starting a new year at school or graduating remind me that our time with our children is a precious stage of life that flies by all too fast. That seems to be particularly true if you are sending off a Year 7 for their first year in Secondary or watching a Year 12 head towards adulthood. But I think every year level is a special moment and another step.So take those first-day or first-week photos and treat yourself kindly as you adjust to another new phase of growth and independence in your young person. If you feel like a bit teary and sentimental, you can have a listen to this over a cup of tea!