Principal's Blog Principal's Blog

Being a parent has to be both one of the most rewarding and challenging roles we can ever hope to play in our life time. As parents of two amazing young women (yes I am biased), my husband and I can safely say we have navigated many highs and lows throughout the twenty years of having our girls as gifts in our lives. It seemed that just when we had encountered and conquered one concern another would appear and on reflection it is truly only the extra strong thread of God’s love in our lives that helped us move through those times.
In my 25 years of dealing with teenagers, people will often ask how you navigate the messiness of that stage of young people’s lives. My answer to them is more of a question to begin with;
What do you want most for your child?  ...Read More

It is with great sadness this week that we acknowledge that Mr McGrath will not be returning to Grace Primary School due to health concerns. This has been a very difficult decision for Mr McGrath to make, because he loves Grace Primary and cares deeply about our school and its future. I trust as a community you will keep Mr and Mrs McGrath in your prayers as God leads them on a new adventure.  ...Read More

I can hardly believe we are in week 3 of the term already. I continue to meet new parents and students and feel the welcome of a community who love their school. Thank you.  ...Read More

Dear Parents
It never ceases to amaze me how many life lessons we can learn from our children. This week at ‘Together with Year 1’ our Year 1 students offered sage advice to the adults in congregation. Their very well organised and presented Chapel (thanks to our fabulous Year 1 teachers and Pastor Mark), shared the importance of stopping, by pulling on the reigns of life and spending time with God, enabling us to take time to breathe, to share with him our joys and sorrows and gain refreshment by sitting in his presence.  ...Read More

A big hello and welcome back to all of our Grace families this term. I trust that your children have had sometime to rest from the school routine and have enjoyed some holiday adventures. I have just completed my own adventure having had Term 2 as Long Service Leave. It was a wonderful time of exploring parts of our beautiful country coupled with some long overdue home renovations. So a lovely time of some hard work and play.  ...Read More

Semester 1 Reports can be accessed online from today, and detail your child’s progress and areas of development over the past two terms. Subject overviews and instrumental reports were sent home on Tuesday. I would encourage all parents to sit down with your child, away from the busyness of daily life and other siblings, and read through the Report together, and affirm your child on his/her achievements.  ...Read More

While I normally maintain a very neutral position in terms of highlighting my political viewpoints in the public arena, I feel compelled with the upcoming Federal election less than a month away, to highlight some important information to parents. As parents in an independent school, the Education policies of the various parties should form a key factor in the decision that you make on July 3.  ...Read More

‘STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) is one of the most talked about acronyms in education circles at the moment. Australia is falling behind globally when it comes to STEM education, and it’s clear that we have a big challenge on our hands to turn this around.’ (Principals Institute Australia Education Review – May 2016 p 12). One of the key recommendations in this report is that first and foremost, the focus for STEM should be with primary-aged children. So, what is Grace Primary doing to promote STEM?  ...Read More

“Gratitude can make your life happier and more satisfying. When we feel gratitude, we benefit from the pleasant memory of a positive event in our life. Also, when we express our gratitude to others, we strengthen our relationship with them” (Seligman, 2012, p.30). Gratitude, also expressed as appreciation, has been shown through significant research to have a large number of life-long benefits to the individual and to the community. Showing your appreciation can improve relationships, enhance empathy and reduce aggression, improve physical and psychological health, increase mental strength, enhance good sleep habits and improve self-esteem. So, why don’t we show more appreciation?  ...Read More

Although it was only a brief overnight visit, I was able to join the Year 4 campers for part of their camp last week (as was Mrs Stock prior to my arrival), and was incredibly impressed by the ‘tone’ of the camp. While such events can be stressful for some students, away from the comfort and familiarity of home, and also challenging in terms of being set new goals for their own physical and emotional endurance, there was a strong undercurrent of teamship and encouragement that permeated all that the students attempted.  ...Read More