head of junior school - Somerville House

CHAPLAIN'S CORNERMs C O'GormanThe start of a new year usually brings a sense of new beginnings, a chance to start again when we feel we mighthave let ourselves down a bit last year, or perhaps excitement as we reflect on the successes of last year and howwe can raise things to an even higher level this year. I enjoy catching up on a movie or two over the summerholidays; it is a great way to avoid the heat even if the movie is a bit average, and these holidays were noexception (both the heat and the movies!).There seemed to be a lot of good movies to choose from this summer. Firstly, there was The Hobbit, the story ofan epic journey of innocence triumphing over evil. Then I went to see Les Miserables, an incredible tale of grace.Hitchcock was great, with sterling performances from two great actors. One that you might have seen if there areyounger children in the family was Wreck-it Ralph, a great movie for the start of a new year. If you did not get to it,it is a lovely animated picture about a classic ‘bad guy’ in a digital game who is tired of always being the bad guyand having no-one like him.He becomes jealous of “Fix-it Felix Jnr”, the hero of the game, and decides he would rather be a hero than a villain.So he decides to try to reinvent himself, and runs away from his own game for a while (it is just a story remember!).I will not tell you any more of the plot in case you want to see the movie sometime, but suffice it to say, Ralph doesnot find it easy to switch from being the villain to being the hero. He has a lot to learn along the way, but the goodnews is that he gets there in the end.Some of you may have started this year a little like ‘Wreck-it Ralph’, hoping to approach things in a more positiveand productive manner this year and that is a great mindset to adopt. If you have though, be aware it does nothappen easily, and you will find that as you implement those necessary changes in your life, there will be ups anddowns along the way, the old habits are hard to kick sometimes.I am reminded of Zacchaeus in Luke’s Gospel; the man who changed his life around so completely after Jesuscame to his place for lunch. Zacchaeus would have found it hard to suddenly do business in a completely honestway rather than cheating people when he could get away with it as he used to do. Something about meeting Jesusinspired him to make the changes. With God’s help lasting change is possible, so persevere in trying to changethings in your life; prayer and determination will help you get there. Remember, with God, all things are possible!HEAD OF JUNIOR SCHOOLMrs A BennettQuote of the WeekAfter a failure, you can pick yourself up, dust yourself off, and start again but after a success, you’re stuck with it.A very warm welcome to the 2013 Junior School year, with a special mention of our new families and theirdaughter(s) who have joined our Team Somerville. We look forward to working with your daughters in 2013. Thestaff will be actively assisting your daughters to settle in to their 2013 learning environment.The 4Rs of the Junior School are respect, Resilience, Relationships and Responsibility and these values underpinour daily work. In the Junior School students are actively engaged in activities encompassing teacher directed,individual and group work and student directed learning. Students are encouraged to accept the unknown, and itssubsequent challenges, which accompany learning, and be a risk taker. Resilience is essential to navigating our lifejourney, and in a positive supportive environment, we all feel less challenged by the unknown.Our Junior School Information Evening will be held on Tuesday 19 February, with refreshments available from6.00pm. More information will be forthcoming regarding this evening.Congratulations to Mrs Kristin Graham (previously Bragg) who was married during the school holidays.POINTS TO NOTE AND HELP YOU:PLEASE NOTE: The Junior School direct telephone line is 3033 9212.Student Absences - Please ring 3033 9212 between 8.00am and 9.00am to report student absences.Student Attendance Information - Please refer to p13 of the 2013 Family Handbook.The Junior School is not open before 8.00am. Students at school before 8.00am must go to the OSHC (phone3033 9286). Your daughter is unsupervised if left in the School grounds before 8.00am unless she is at OSHC.4