Dear parents, students and friends
Having a son currently in Year 12 I can’t help but begin to reflect on his educational journey as he enters the last few weeks of his formal schooling. Like most children, he has had his high points and low points as he has journeyed through primary and secondary school. When he was in year one, he felt very proud that he had snuck out of the enclosed gate and found his way to my classroom saying “Dad, I managed to escape, but I had better get back before they find out I have gone” feeling like he was an escapee on the run. Fortunately, I didn’t have to front up to the Deputy Principal so I guess he made it back safely. No longer will I have the opportunity to attend his open classroom and see the work he has produced throughout the year, no longer will I have the opportunity to attend his assemblies and mix with other parents, and I will miss the first day of school where I would take a photo of him in his school uniform with his brother and sister as they head off to conquer yet another year.
Some parents with a Year 12 student will be breathing a sigh of relief that these days will soon be over, with no more pressures of homework or assignments. For others, there will be a sense of trepidation as a whole new world begins. However, I do believe that it is good to reflect on the many different ways that our children have grown, both physically, emotionally, spiritually, and academically throughout their schooling to become the delightful young adults that they have become. More importantly, take the time recalling stories of their schooling that they may have forgotten and then support them as best you can in the last few weeks at school. Some students will be anxious about next year and the loss of friendship groups as people go in different directions. As parents, we need to be sensitive to this and to be there as our once small child and now beautiful young adult begins once again to take on the world, albeit in a very different context.
Blessings