Head of School’s Comment

Our Shakespeare Festival is now drawing to a close.  The 3^rd, 4^th and 5^th Classes have already performed and we await the 6^th Class finale tonight.  Congratulations to teachers, parents, children and friends for making this year’s Festival such a resounding success.
These productions would not be possible without a high level of commitment and dedication from all those involved.
 
In the weeks leading up to the performances at Glen Street Theatre, we do wonder why we put ourselves through the stress and sometimes the agony, of staging these plays; but the performance night says it all.  The performances have been brilliant, extremely entertaining and very professional.
 
Apart from the sense of achievement and enormous enjoyment, the Shakespeare Festival works in very well with the development of character, the pursuit of excellence and the implementation of our Core Values.  It’s quite inspirational watching the plays develop, and seeing the children overcome their own fears and difficulties, and growing in stature and confidence.  They grow from year to year.
 
Shakespeare is the best of English literature and gives us a richness of language that in turn enriches the soul.  So many of the lines connect us with our own moral compass and can guide us throughout life.  We all have a mixture of the good and bad within us, and our character develops and strengthens when we nourish the good.  It’s the same with the children; if we nourish the good it will strengthen and grow.
 
It takes quite a deal of courage and service for the children to persist with learning their lines, entering on cue, working as a team, and finally performing on stage.  If the plays are to be a success, which they are, teachers and children alike have to put aside their own ego and work for the benefit of all.

Mary McKendrick
Headmistress