I can honestly say ‘I had the pleasure’ of attending the 5th Class camp to Bathurst this week. It is a wonderful opportunity for students to immerse themselves in the world of our early settlers during the gold rush era: the living conditions, the food, the sanitation, the metal forging, and in our case this year, a full day of rain that gave the experience a harsh authenticity nobody planned for. The weather did nothing to dampen the spirit of the students (or the teachers). The children’s engagement across every activity, and particularly the way they looked after one another throughout, was a credit to them and to the school. Julian Wilcock …

Below in this week’s newsletter you will see a few sneak peeks I took of our 6th Class students’ self-directed art projects. Each student was given the freedom to create their own piece, inspired by an art movement or specific artist. The range of subjects, mediums and attention to detail were very impressive. They were all thoroughly engrossed in their creations and very keen to explain their choices and technique. Each piece is as unique as each child, and we look forward to the exhibition of the finished work in Term 4. “The things that make me different are the things that make me.” A. A. Milne, Winnie the Pooh Julian Wilcock …

This week we welcomed a group of directors and educators from local preschools for a tour of the school. They spent additional time in our Lower 1st classrooms and in conversation with our teachers, which they found particularly useful in helping them plan and support their students’ transition into primary school. We are always pleased to open our doors in this way. Showing how we are unique is something we take pride in, and supporting families at the point of transition into primary school is of benefit to all. If your younger child is attending a local preschool and you think their director or educators would benefit from a visit, please do encourage them to reach out to our …

Sanskrit has been taught at John Colet School since its founding, and next week’s Recitation Finals are one of the most visible expressions of that commitment. It is one of the most precisely constructed languages ever recorded. Every sound has a specific point of origin in the mouth and throat, and every word is built from roots that follow rules with almost no exceptions. Our students, who are still forming their understanding of how language works, encounter in Sanskrit a structure and logic that English, with its centuries of borrowing and irregularity, does not offer in the same way. This is part of why Sanskrit supports literacy more broadly. A child who learns to hear and reproduce sounds that …

This Monday our school celebrated Teachers’ Day. At John Colet School, this is an opportunity to show respect and give thanks to our class teachers and to all those from whom we learn how to be our best selves and work for the good of all. Philosophy means the love of wisdom. Such wisdom can be near, like our parents, or far. It can come from someone in the present or from words and actions that continue to inspire, dating back centuries. Our students are asked to bring a flower to assembly, which can be a simple one from the home garden or created from paper. It is a practical symbol of gratitude to all those who have shaped …

We have two special performances coming up to conclude Term 2. Next Tuesday’s Instrumental Concert is largely an individual achievement. Each student has been practicing their instrument outside school hours, often without an audience, and in many cases this concert is their first opportunity to play in front of one. The Upper 1st and 2nd Class Shakespeare Festival, the following week, asks something different. These students have been rehearsing together all term, and what they are bringing to the stage is genuinely collective. This is their first standalone class play and the preparation has been considerable. We look forward to welcoming families to both. Julian Wilcock …