Dear Parents, Teachers and Staff,

We are approaching the Christmas holiday break with all the normal requirements of preparing for final assessments and ensuring our qualifications are as good as can be with the obvious pressure of still working online. There are two distinct ways of looking at this. The first is to acknowledge that this has been a year like no other and has been incredibly difficult to navigate at times. A second perspective is to acknowledge that despite this the community has achieved amazing things. Our students are engaged in a wide range of academic and non-academic endeavours.  Creativity is flourishing. Our students and staff exemplify kindness and empathy. Our academic results will still be good with teachers using strategies that many of them did not know existed only eight months ago.  As a school we have very successfully negotiated our combined IBO/WASC visit and have been able to demonstrate that not only are we of an international standard but that we are at the high end of international standards. We have a lot to be thankful of in a word where so many are struggling. A look at our semester summary video (due out on the website and Instagram this Friday) gives insight into just how much is going on.

Let’s look forward to the new semester with confidence and optimism. We are seeing the beginnings of positive changes. Our expatriate staff are able to enter the country and we have been able to begin simulations for the return of students. Most of all we can be confident of the fact that we as a community have been challenged yet we have stood up to these challenges and grown (some would even say thrived.) Thank you everyone for your kindness, optimism and willingness to raise standards and strive for the best. 

We look forward to our return in Semester 2. Enjoy a blessed holiday.

Martin Blackburn

Executive Principal