Published on: 24 April 2024

  • Winter sport kicks off
  • ANZAC Day wreath laying
  • 44th Battalion banner recreated by Art students
  • Staying safe online

On Saturday I enjoyed walking the fields of Mount Claremont and St John’s Wood watching the opening round of PSA winter fixtures. Physical activity plays a big role in health and wellbeing. We commence this journey with our youngest students, with some gentle and gradual movement. This form of exercise then develops as the boys get older and small changes are introduced to the level and type of physical activity. By the time the students are in Year 4, the boys move from skill development to playing a game and by the time they enter Year 7, they are game ready and can embrace all that the PSA has to offer. Results from the weekend can be found here.

Tomorrow morning, two of our Army Cadets, Alasdair Cameron and Daniel Leahy will be laying a wreath at the ANZAC Day service in Claremont Park to commemorate the lives of Australian and New Zealand Army Corps soldiers who have fought and died in combat. This service is held on the anniversary of the Gallipoli campaign of the First World War and includes traditional proceedings such as The Last Post and poem readings. The service commences at 7.30am and concludes around 8.00am with a barbecue breakfast in the park.

Every year our Cadets support the Dalkeith Primary School with their ANZAC Assembly. This year we provided a Guard of Cadets and flag raising. You can see images of the event here.

This year, Christ Church Art students were involved in a community project, with the aim of faithfully replicating the 44th Battalion banner. The original had travelled with the men in 1916 on their ship bound for Britain firstly and then on to the front line trenches of France. You can read the full story on our Media Release.

During the recent break an additional flag pole was installed on campus, and now has the Torres Strait Islander flag flying alongside the School, Aboriginal, Western Australian and Australian flag. The School’s Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander program is significant for the students and School, and flying the flag demonstrates our recognition of First Nation peoples and promotes a sense of community.

This week, the Parent Forum for the Preparatory School addressed Cyber Safety. Staying cyber safe is imperative and the speed with which technology advances is matched with the speed of cyber criminals. The Australian Government’s esafety site has a considerable amount of resources for parents, including advice on devices, parental controls, hard conversations and also gaming, cyberbullying and screen time. Here is a link to the Parent Forum recording and related resources.

Alan Jones
Principal