It’s all about the partnership…
It is not uncommon in the secret lives of teachers to sometimes wonder about how the parents (and usually the mum springs to mind) cope with a certain child and their antics. I recall as a new dad, a good friend telling me “God gives you the child you deserve!”. That brought into sharp focus, the importance and responsibility of parenthood and how it would be Jane and I who would “make the difference” for our children in their future. Some 20 years later I can reflect that at times we (well me really) made some calls that nowadays would be called “near misses” in the parenting stakes. But for the most part, I think we got it right and like you, we celebrate that our children are our greatest achievement in life.
In reality, there is still no perfect guidebook or gene that magically kicks in for parenting. We instinctively draw upon the advice of family, friends, teachers and experts to create the best we can for our children. One of the most important choices we make is the education we will provide for our children. Education has always been and remains the most significant factor in bringing about change for an individual’s success in the world. Education happens in a myriad of contexts and is not limited to schooling, but there are only 1,296,960 minutes (give or take) that are entrusted to schools to shape students learning and life.
We are honoured that you have chosen Grammar to be the school that partners with you in this vital adventure of educating your children.
It is not lost on me that many of our parents make significant sacrifices to send their children to Grammar, knowing that together we may give them the education which will set them up for life. It is bold to claim that we are a school that will have a profound and positive life impact on your children. But if we do not have this ambition, we run the risk of the volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous world in which they live, becoming overwhelming for them. We are mindful that we must set them up as learners for life, so our children do not become hapless and frustrated in their future endeavours.
This is why we must keep the fundamentals of our partnership simple and meaningful. Character education and well-being are at the heart of all we do at Grammar. This shared undertaking is driven by our values of compassion, inclusion, community, safety and respect. We are evolving our understanding of what well-being means and why it is so important in the growth of our future generations. Our work as teachers is shaped by understanding how we nurture our students for their bright future. What does it look and feel like to be thriving in the spheres of Academic, Physical, Psychological, Social and Spiritual development? Our understanding of this will be informed by our collective ability to make a difference at Grammar. I look forward to working with you as we realise this ambition for our amazing students.
Finally, it would be remiss not to wish all our Mums a wonderful day on Sunday. Although we celebrate you every day (albeit understated for the most part) Sunday is an opportunity to pause and acknowledge all that you do for us. A Mother’s love is unconditional, and nurturing, often involves sacrifice, requires great strength and is always about teaching us to be better. I hope we all have the opportunity to honour in some way the mums in our life this weekend.
Go well good people of Grammar. Have a wonderful weekend!
Dale Bennett
Principal