We have reached the finish line for students and most staff by the end of this week. Schools do not stop just because students have left us. Many of us will continue working up to Christmas and be back again early in the New Year. I want to say a big thank you to all the staff for their efforts this year as we moved away from covid restrictions and begun to assume some sense of normality.

At the end of something it is always good not just to breathe a sigh of relief and be glad it has ended but to reflect on the past and form a plan for the future. I spoke to the students at the Secondary Thanksgiving and Presentation Assembly on Friday about running the race of schooling with commitment and perseverance. One of our senior students has just won gold at the NSW Super Sprint Triathlon Championships and only just missed out on becoming State Champion for all divisions up to U23 by 0.2 of a second. 

Our students need to think of their time at school as a race and learn to equip themselves for it by developing the skills of learning and study. Any physical competition requires fitness and training and that is what school can do for students academically. Even as we celebrated student achievement this year, I challenged the students to think about next year and what they might set as their personal best target.

To those families that are moving on from us for various reasons, we wish you all the very best for the future. I trust your child’s time at GPCC has laid some good foundations for their future. We also look forward to welcoming many new students in 2023.

As we prepare to enter the Christmas season, we should not forget to think of the Christ child who became a living example of what all human beings should aspire to be. May this Christmas be a blessed one for your family. The staff and I look forward to welcoming you back for another year in 2023.

Phillip Nash

Principal