Congratulations Alice!

Rev. John Leaver, after whom our very own Leaver House is named, was instrumental in starting not only our school but FOURTEEN others! It is an incredible legacy to have, and his determination, care for others and leadership is celebrated in the form of an award given to a Year 11 student at each of the schools that are part of the Ecumenical Schools network. The following year, the students (now in Year 12) gather together to share a day to celebrate and further empower the award winners.

Alice (Year 12) was our Casey Grammar representative and presented a wonderful speech on the theme of the day, ‘Leaving it better’, by focusing on climate change. It was special to have her parents with her as part of the celebration.

We were also privileged to hear from the Big Issue Classroom, including a woman who had experienced homelessness. She shared her very powerful story which was extremely moving for all. A highlight of the day was listening to and meeting Wendy Leaver, Reverend Leaver’s wife, who worked alongside him on many projects.

Students also participated in several activities designed to help them think about themselves, their leadership and their contributions, with everyone agreeing it was a fantastic day.

Harmony Week is Coming!

Week 8 (next week) will be our Harmony Week celebrations which we are excitedly preparing for. We have students practicing in the Chapel for their performances, our Captains are organising the posters to go up, the incursions have been booked and the lunches are ready for ordering. It is going to be a full and exciting week.

It is wonderful to see how it evolves each year. However, this year we were utterly overwhelmed by Junior School performers which meant that sadly everyone has not been able to participate in this part of the celebrations. We are so grateful to everyone who expressed interest, even though everyone has not been able to be selected.

Fortunately, we have Harmony Week every year and so each year we have students who perform for the first time.

Please ensure that you read the letter about Harmony Week that will be distributed as there are a lot of different elements to the week. A key date is Thursday 21 March which will be our cultural clothing day. Students are encouraged to bring a gold coin donation that will go towards the Asylum Seeker Resource Centre (Senior School) and Front Yard Youth Services (Junior School) — two outstanding organisations.

It is definitely going to be an exciting end to the term!

Every blessing to you all.

Monique Riviere-Pendle

Chaplain