Welcome to the new school year! In the second week of January, I started to wonder why I was dragging my feet coming in to work. Rather than leaping out of bed at 5 o’clock as I usually do, I wasn’t getting up until my alarm told me I needed to. I wasn’t getting excited about different ideas and the things I wanted to make happen … Perhaps I was going to be ill? Maybe I’m just getting too old for the job? Either way, it didn’t feel right and this worried me. I dutifully came in every day and I was remarkably productive sitting in my own in my office, but it wasn’t much fun.

All became clear when the students and staff returned to school this week – all at once, the atmosphere changed and I found myself laughing and enjoying the day and looking forward to coming to school again. Once again, I was getting up early, feeling ready for the day and not needing an alarm. It may sound obvious that a school exists for the students, but it really emphasised to me the joy that they bring and I am happy to report that it is once again fun to be at school.

We were very pleased to be supported by various police around the area this week and we appreciated their presence. In turn, it was lovely to hear from the police to whom I spoke that they thoroughly enjoy their work in our community and at 91¶¶Òõ, because we clearly value their presence and appreciate the way they contribute to keeping us safe. Apparently, this is not always the case – they are not often thanked in the course of their duty and they are rarely shown gratitude for their work. I thank them and CSG for their valued service and urge everybody to continue to make them feel valued. Their job seems to be a particularly challenging one and I am not envious of what they do. I shall stick to being a principal.

As we approach the end of Week 1, we have welcomed our new students, run evening sessions for Year 7 and Year 12 parents, welcomed our new staff and rolled out shiny new staff laptops so that we can use the most up to date technology to teach our students. Mrs Knight has settled into the Primary School, the gardens are getting there and there is a buzz about the place. Once again, it feels like school and it feels good.

Shabbat shalom.

Julie Harris

Principal

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