Dear Parents and Carers,

Welcome to Term 4!  I realise that the holiday weeks probably did not feel the same as a “normal” holiday but I do hope you had some down time and some special family time.

It is wonderful to know that our students are returning to school – even though there are still a few weeks before we have all of the students back on site with us.  We are loving having Year 12 back this week and look forward to having Year 11s back the week after next.

We will all still have challenges ahead as we navigate the new circumstances of the roadmap out of lockdown but I strongly believe in our ability to manage these as a community. I recommend to you Jacob Knowles article in this week’s Key Messages as he reflects on some of these issues.

It is great to see the uptake of vaccinations in our ACT community. We are particularly lucky to now have vaccinations so widely available to our young people. It is very encouraging to see the large numbers of young people between 12 and 16 who have already had their first dose and to know that there is no shortage of appointments available for them. If you haven’t already booked to have your young person vaccinated, I would strongly urge you to do so.

I would also recommend to you in this week’s Key Messages Jen Tually’s challenge to all of our families to pray together. She begins by outlining the very positive and practical impacts that prayer can have. Regardless of your religious affiliation, it is a wonderful resource that will benefit every one of us. I join with Jen in encouraging you to take up her challenge and I would love to hear how you go with it.

Finally, I wish all of our Year 12 Tertiary students all the very best in their AST exams next week. They have worked very well to prepare themselves for this and we have no doubt that they will give their best to it. We are looking forward to having a COVID safe breakfast with them on Tuesday to help them start the day on a positive note together. A reminder that all Year 12 Accredited classes will be conducted remotely during these two days. This means that our Year 12 A students do not need to be at school but that they are required to attend all their timetabled classes during this time.

I wish you all a safe and happy Term 4 and look forward to seeing more of everyone as we move forward.

Catherine Rey