Hello,
Welcome to term 3. This term is full of exciting events, we have camp, science week, book week, pancake breakfasts and morning teas as well as all of the other every day activities that go on at a school. Hang on and enjoy the ride!
At the end of this term, I will clock over a year of service at this school. This time has gone so quickly. I have already shared a number of highs and lows over my time here. It has made me feel very honoured to be here in your community, to be able to ride these waves with you. It has also got me thinking what is community and what is the purpose of a community? When I consulted my dictionary, the meaning is this: “A community is a familiar thread used to bring people together to advocate and support each other. As human beings, we need a sense of belonging, and that sense of belonging is what connects us to the many relationships we develop”.
You can very grateful that you are blessed with this beautiful caring community. When I spend time with the playgroup on Tuesdays, they all have the common thread of parenting babies, toddlers and preschoolers. They are a great group who support one another. I see community when we have fun cooking pancakes or sharing a cuppa at our FOG morning teas. At school pickups there are many of you who sit and chat as you are connected and have relationships with each other. Everyone I speak with has a sense of belonging here at this school, whether it be parents, staff or children. We all have the common thread and that is our children. We are all part of this community because of them. Everything we do here is for them and with their best intentions in mind. The new playground is a great example of a team of people coming together to create a space that our children will love to spend time in.
I was speaking to someone recently who is new to the area and like me is getting to know our community. We both agreed that you get to know a community when the tough stuff happens. You meet people, team work evolves, people band together for the good of others and the best traits of a community are shown during these times. I have seen the best of your community in action recently with the care, love and support that you have all been showing to the Menzel family. You can all be proud of the way that you have banded together as a community is many ways.
When I look back over my friendships, the most meaningful and closest are those that I made when my children were at school. We were all navigating the school years, routines, sport pickups together. We were connected and had a sense of belonging. We car pooled, babysat and helped out each other when parenting became overwhelming. To this day, those friends are still my closest and we are still navigating parenthood together just with bigger children! Being part of a community and having a sense of belonging is so important, we weren’t created to be alone.
All the best for the next couple of weeks. Don’t take our beautiful community for granted. Be grateful for it and say thanks to those who are part of it.
Cheers Jo
