Welcome Back!

It was a joy to see the Year 12s back at school this week and to once again be able to share classes with them. Amidst this, we are also busy preparing for their Valedictory, which is coming up in a couple of weeks.

At the end of Year 12, our students each receive a Bible that serves as a reminder of the Christian foundation of the School and also as a symbol of wisdom for their lives beyond Casey Grammar School.

In future days, we look forward to welcoming back our other students and sharing the excitement of being back together as a school community.

Santa Sacks

Over the holidays we did some drop-offs to families around the local area to get our Santa Sack initiative on behalf of Backpacks 4 Vic Kids up and running.

It was delightful to see students from across the school as well as parents, staff and partners of staff joining in to create the bags. We certainly have very creative, talented members within our school community.

We know Backpacks 4 Vic Kids will really appreciate the efforts to create such festive bags. Thank you to all involved already. However, it’s not too late! We need the completed bags by the end of October so if you are now feeling inspired — particularly given that the lockdown will last a bit longer, email me for details of how we can get the bags to you. m.riviere-pendle@caseygrammar.vic.edu.au

Holding the Tension

Each term, we begin our Staff Professional Development Day with a Chapel. This term, our theme was an acknowledgment that many of us are currently trying to hold the balance between two seemingly conflicting things. Perhaps you may resonate with these feelings:

We hold the tension of work and home pressures.

We hold the tension of sharing joy and sharing sorrow.

We hold the tension of hope that we might be able to move towards some level of normality and fear of COVID numbers that increase each day.

We hold the tension of risk and benefit.

We hold the tension of sickness and health.

We hold the tension of academic expectations and mental health.

We hold the tension between dreams and reality.

We hold the tension of belief and unbelief.

And so, we begin by acknowledging that we come to this term with mixed emotions, mixed thoughts about what it will hold and the reality that we live in complex times where easy answers are difficult to find.   

In my own reflections on this, I found this clip by Dr Miriam Rose Ungunmer, Senior Australian of the Year and Aboriginal Christian leader. It was a beautiful way to still myself amidst all that is going on and a reminder of the encouragement to listen deeply. May it strengthen you also.

Monique Riviere-Pendle

Chaplain