A Week to Remember!
Welcome one and all to what might very possibly turn out to be my favourite week of the year! It’s the week that has had everything. A School Council meeting which is always such a pleasure to attend; our Senior School Academic Honours assembly where we were able to delight in beautiful music whilst celebrating our academic high achievers; a superb Explore, Dream, Discover Careers dinner, the brainchild of the amazing Ms Alison Weeks, where our 211 Year 12 students were invited to talk about their futures with 157 guests representing so many different career possibilities, including a mesmerising address from guest speaker and shark attack survivor, Brett Connellan; the Senior School House Music Challenge on Friday afternoon which is always such a joyful afternoon; and great things happening in Junior School, including a 3rd place in the Reader’s Cup and Joshua Edwards celebrating his birthday by being named South Coast player of the tournament in the U12 State Rugby Union championships.
But wait….there’s more. Saturday is Fair Day! It seems that yet again we will be blessed with a beautiful sunny day as families from far and wide come together to celebrate those precious gifts we receive from being part of a community where selfless volunteers play such a vital and significant part in our sense of belonging and wellbeing. David and Kathryn Pearson, both of whom lead busy lives, essentially put those lives on hold for several months to fulfil their roles as Fair Convenors. It is volunteering at its most extreme (this is their second Fair at the helm), and the day would simply not happen without them. It is such a profound act of love for and faith in our School community and we are now and will forever be profoundly grateful for their extraordinary contributions. Working alongside them is a veritable army of volunteers. Danielle Steensma-Collins and Tiffany Pattemore organise all the food stalls (it is such a logistical challenge) with breathtaking unflappability; Andrew Small takes on the organisation of Sideshow Alley; Carmel and Scott Conlin run the Cent Auction; Vera Todorivic and Jo Robertson have the daunting task of managing the treasury leading up to the Fair and on the day; beautiful Sally McMahon, P&F President extraordinaire, organises the volunteers; Carlos Trindade looks after the Marketplace; and our Marketing and Community Engagement team led by Maria Egan and including Sally Snow and Kelly Rossmann form the liaison between our incredibly generous parents and the School. Nor should we forget the other staff members who play such an important role preparing for the Fair and then turning up on the day. Steve Jones and his team of Grounds and Maintenance staff work tirelessly to prepare our campus for all that is about to take place and then restore it to functionality after the event; Todd Harm looks after the entertainment on the day (does that man ever sleep?!) with the incredible support of Owen Clarke, our Director of Performing Arts; and I want to give a ‘shout out’ too to Mr Francis Nairn, one of our gifted English teachers who has overseen the car parking challenge at the Fair for many, many years. It is a thankless task which he does so well.
Of course in thanking individuals one runs the risk of upsetting the hundreds of others who have put their heart and soul (and their precious time) into making the Fair the success I know it will be. It is such a massive undertaking and I remain convinced that it is the most ambitious and probably the largest school fair in the Southern hemisphere. It is a day of glorious celebration. There is a quite palpable excitement evident in our students in the weeks leading up to the great day, a day where memories will be made, new friendships formed, and stories will develop which will be retold over and over in the years ahead. “Do you remember when……..?”
For those ‘hundreds of others’ allow me to share a poem that has touched me deeply in recent weeks after our Commercial Manager, Ms Lisa Thomas, gave me such a thoughtful gift of a collection of Seamus Heaney’s poetry on her return from her Long Service Leave. Many of you will know the story of the paralysed man who, because of the crowd, is lowered by his friends from the roof under which Jesus was addressing the crowd to land at His feet. In the poem ‘Miracle’ (from his ‘Human Chain’ collection), Heaney writes:
Not the one who takes up his bed and walks
But the ones who have known him all along
And carry him in –
Their shoulders numb, the ache and stoop deeplocked
In their backs, the stretcher handles
Slippery with sweat. And no let-up
Until he’s strapped on tight, made tiltable
And raised to the tiled roof, then lowered for healing.
Be mindful of them as they stand and wait
For the burn of the paid-out ropes to cool,
Their slight lightheadedness and incredulity
To pass, those ones who had known him all along.
We love to celebrate success and achievement at All Saints, but I have never had any doubt that the foundation of the beauty that exists in our community comes from that quiet majority of good, decent, often quiet people – students, staff and parents, who make it their business to look after those around them.
So yes… a week, by any measure, to remember, and one that for me at least will linger in the memory for many years to come. Thank you all for enriching my life and the lives of so many others by your goodness and willingness to serve.
Patrick Wallas
Headmaster
