Welcome back for another year! I can’t believe it’s only the start of the second week of school; so much has already happened.
The staff have all been working hard, getting ready for the year ahead. We’ve moved into our brand new Industrial Arts Centre, and we’ve even held a Graduation already!
This week we have our swimming carnival, and then our high school students will start heading off on (covid safe) camps up and down the coast. I love the start of a new year!
However, I don’t want to get too far ahead of myself. I’d like to take a moment to reflect on some of the best parts of the holidays.
Apart from the obvious of spending Christmas with family, heading to the South Coast for a holiday, seeing the new Spider-Man movie, and lounging by the pool, one of my favourite things about the summer holidays is the sport.
Of course there is the cricket and tennis, but I am becoming more and more passionate about the NFL which reaches its crescendo at this time of year.
However, I must mention the amazing Ash Barty. What a champion!
I can only imagine the pressure of being the number one ranked player in the world, playing in your home grand slam, which you have never won before.
The way she simply marched the tournament, and stormed home in the final was just brilliant to watch.
The best part about watching her is that it was obvious that she had put the hard work into her preparation and was determined to be her best.
In the final when she went 5-1 down in the second set, she stayed calm and just took things point-by-point on the way to a stunning comeback and victory.
Tennis legend Jim Courier was commentating at the time and noted that when she fell behind she wasn’t “panicking, just processing and problem solving.”
There is so much for our students to take out of this – preparation and hard work are the keys to success; and when you hit an obstacle, don’t panic, just process and then problem solve.
Too many people give up too quickly and get overwhelmed by the big picture instead of just taking things one step at a time.
I’d love for all our high school students to remember that this year – you are going to face challenges and setbacks, but you can conquer them by tackling them one step at a time. Hard work trumps talent, and it’s amazing how many lucky people seem to be the ones who are always prepared and ready for anything.
Ash Barty is a wonderful role model for all our students. Congrats Ash, keep on doing us proud and we’ll try to follow your example!
Greg