We are off and running in a busy term. The relaxation of various COVID-19 restrictions has allowed us to continue to welcome parents and visitors on-site and also to feel increasingly confident about the many events and opportunities we have planned for Term II.

Last week our community paused to acknowledge and express gratitude for all servicemen and women, past and present, at our TIGS ANZAC ceremonies. This important and sombre occasion was led by Rev. Rogers and assisted by our HSIE department, Junior School Music staff and students.

The sports programme for Term II is jam-packed with Junior and Senior School Athletics carnivals, allowing our athletes to participate in House competitions as well as access pathways to higher levels of representation. Elite swimmers will head off to the CIS carnival to represent NASSA Schools and a wide variety of sporting opportunities will be available for our students. Please refer to the overview in this newsletter provided by Mr Jay Tregonning for full details.

The TIGS Production will occur later in the term and our students are very busy rehearsing and working together for this important School event. In the Junior School, Years 3 and 4 instrumental concerts were held this week and live-streamed for families unable to attend. It was wonderful to hear our Year 3 students already able to perform simple pieces after only just commencing the instrumental programme and Year 4 were even more confident in their skills. Our specialist Tutors and music staff are truly remarkable in leading this programme. Congratulations to these emerging musicians for the practice and effort involved and thank you to our mums and dads for your support and encouragement of your children in this area.

Year 12 charity events will feature heavily this term with “Music on the Grass” (a fantastic new initiative) at the beginning of the term and the traditional Year 12 Trivia Night scheduled for later in the term. The inaugural Music on the Grass event was a great success, the weather was just beautiful and the talent on display remarkable. It is amazing to hear the depth of talent that is present in our current Year 12 and the added bonus of encore performances by Alumni Molly Stewart (Class of 2018) and Darcy Fisher (Class of 2019) was just a delight. I encourage our families to get behind Year 12 as they raise funds for their nominated charity, The Leukaemia Foundation.

Why is our School so busy?
Is it just to keep students entertained? Or is there a deeper reason beyond our commitment to a broad and holistic approach to education at TIGS?

Our School is committed to academic rigour, where each student is expected, supported and challenged to work at the highest personal levels. Our learning curriculum is discipline-based and we aim for excellence in academic skills, approaches and application. However, this alone is not enough to equip young people for flourishing futures in a complex and changing world.

Young people need a breadth of experiences and opportunities to develop interpersonal skills, self-awareness and control, collaboration, perseverance, adaptability, creativity and many many other attributes, approaches and skills essential to future flourishing. A broad and inclusive co-curricular programme in parallel with a rigorous and well delivered academic programme are two parts of the triangle for success. The other element of course is exceptional pastoral care and wellbeing programmes.

A broad and balanced school experience should be designed with our learners at the centre. There is no such thing as ‘one size fits all’ when it comes to learning. It should be carefully planned with the children at the heart and the following guiding questions assist us in the planning.

What is it we want them to learn?
What skills, knowledge, experiences and understanding do they need to develop into well-rounded and informed citizens?
What individual strengths can be leveraged?
How can we support them to make connections between theory and practice?

A broad and holistic school programme provides young people with the opportunities to learn about themselves, their community, their values and the wider world to ensure they can make the most of it.

That is why we will have a busy Term II and indeed 2021. All of these carefully considered and curated offerings are part of the comprehensive suite of opportunities available to every TIGS student. Enjoy this busy Term and I look forward to seeing you at various events or on campus.