Published on: 21 March 2024

  • Harmony Week guest speakers
  • da Vinci Decathlon
  • First XI Cricket coach Graeme Wood retiring
  • Head of the River this weekend

This week the School has been celebrating Harmony Week, when we recognise our diversity and bring Australians from all different backgrounds together. The campus today is a sea of staff wearing orange to show support for inclusion, respect and a sense of belonging for everyone. Senior School students were treated to a panel discussion this morning involving a Rabbi, Buddhist Monk, and member of the Hindu Council of Australia. This diverse panel discussed their faith and spirituality, circumstances that led them to their faith, what they would like Australian society to know about their faith and also their hope for the future.

As we near the end of Term 1, we can reflect on what has been an outstanding term across all disciplines. Academically, students have performed well on campus and at external competitions. Healthy competition inspires students to do their best, and when students compete, they become more inquisitive, research independently and learn to work with others. In Week 6, students from the Preparatory and Senior School participated in the da Vinci Decathlon at UWA. The competition sees some of the brightest students in WA compete against their peers from other schools. At the conclusion of the competition, both Preparatory and Senior School teams did exceptionally well. You can read more about the School and competitions here.

At the conclusion of this term, Graeme Wood retires from his position as coach of First XI Cricket team. The School has been the beneficiary of Graeme’s extraordinary talent and experience since 2016 with Darlot Cup wins in 2017, 2022 and 2023. I know all of the students who have had contact with Graeme have benefited in ways that will shape their future in cricket. Firsts Cricket Captain, Adam Solomons, commented that “Graeme has passed his wisdom, knowledge, and values down to all who were involved in cricket, and this will hold us in good stead for the remainder of our cricketing careers. He brought a sense of professionalism to the program at Christ Church in a way not many people would be able to, and the proof is in Christ Church’s three Darlot Cups wins under his direction.”

The Head of the River will be held this Saturday and we have 12 crews competing, starting with our Year 9E Quad all the way up to the First VIII. The teams are all rowing exceptionally well and the field is very strong, so we will definitely see some great action on the water at Champion Lakes. If you are interested in the live streaming, you can watch the action live via this link. I hope to see many of our community members at Champion Lakes cheering the crews on.

Alan Jones
Principal