08 Dec 2016
Mr Luke O'Brien
Presentation Day 8.12.16
Students, graduating class of 2016 and their entourage, family and friends of Ebenezer, our hard-working Ebenezer staff.
It is again my great honour as principal of Ebenezer Public School to speak to you on this occasion, our Presentation Day for 2016.
The students here at Ebenezer are renowned as a well-behaved, respectful bunch of gentle students who love life and love learning. I recently walked someone new through our school. As usual I couldn't wait for this part of the meeting because every time I walk someone through our classrooms they are greeting with inquisitive joy and welcoming smiles everywhere. It happened again this time and the comment from our visitor was ‘you just know it is a good school, everyone seems so happy'. I felt overwhelming pride and goodwill towards all of you and us. The way you, parents and carers, have raised your children combined with our focus on social-emotional well-being as well academic well-being is paying off I believe.
I will, of course love now to acknowledge your role as parents, grandparents, carers and relatives of this wonderful group of future citizens in front of us today. You can see the results of the role you play every day raising this bunch of children in front of you. It is a complex, busy and complicated world we are bringing these children up in and you should be congratulated. Every new student at Ebenezer is absorbed and lands softly into a beautifully caring environment. This is testament to you. And thank you for supporting your school with real heart. All the way from our dedicated and passionate P&C to parents who simply support when they can, thank you. The effort behind art show this year, again, was epic and full of love for the school. You certainly make our job easier. Of course, the way we do things may rankle at times, all I can ask for is your patience and know that we are on the same journey as other schools, trying to get the balance right. Thanks must go to all who have been a part of recent infrastructure and beautification plans for the school. The grounds look fantastic.
When I write this speech every year it is an opportunity to sit back and spend some time reflecting on how we do things here and the legacy we leave. This school will continue on through the decades, students, teachers and parents will come and go. Our job is to bolster good systems and practices and leave the place better than we found it. As a staff we try to maintain the tension on our practice. We are not satisfied if one of our students is not reaching their goals, we are not satisfied if we make mistakes and don't learn from them. I am happy to say our staff are consistently working on self-improvement as educators and educational institution staff. This job is way too important to take lightly and we tackle every challenge with a forward focus, ever onward. Thank you Ebenezer Public School staff for everything you do every day.
Thank you Mrs Proglio and staff for organising today, you have again done credit to yourselves and the school.
Our focus on reading continues in every classroom at Ebenezer, every day. We hope your child has developed a passion for great books that continues into high school. To quote Keeley's speech during book parade - Mem Fox, the author of Possum Magic, says that schools should promote reading "until they get hoarse doing it". She meant, of course, not the horse kind of horse, the hoarse as in you almost lose your voice. Here at Ebenezer we read every day, in every subject, all the time. We are read to, we read together and we read quietly by ourselves. Ebenezer is a Book Kingdom. We continue to strive for improvement in every child at Ebenezer.
We have some news for you. Mrs Lansdowne, who has joined us today, was with us from 2011 until 2014. She took Year 6 for 2 years then a 4/5 then I had the privilege of sharing a 3/4 class with her during my first year as principal here. I benefitted from working closely with a flexible, gentle and student-focused teacher with a close knowledge of how each of the student's learnt. She is a genius at gentle welfare and knowing her students and all of the children she teaches has a real soft spot for her. These skills were recognised and Mrs Lansdowne took a secondment at Blackett Public School as a relieving Assistant Principal in 2015. She was recently successful in landing a permanent job at Blackett as an Assistant Principal. This is well-deserved. I think I speak for all of us here in congratulating you on your first substantive appointment as an executive and wish you all the very best in the future. We have a small token of our appreciation here for you. Thank you on behalf of the Ebenezer Public School community.
To the captains, you do receive an extra mention as the students who the rest of us wanted to follow. Casey, Griffin, Lucia and Joshua have been wonderful ambassadors for our school. They truly deserved your combined vote last year and carried out any tasks put in front of them with maturity and resilience.
To our captains for next year. Good luck to you all and congratulations on your election – the wonderful thing is all you really had to do was watch past captains and how they did their job. There is a real legacy of effective student leadership here at Ebenezer.
Thankyou to the contingent of candidates for 2015 Captain positions who weren't chosen this year. I'm a big fan of all of the students here and it was wonderful to see so many candidates having a go and risking failure! That is one of life's challenges you have been exposed to early. I am impressed with the way you have handled yourselves. We will be needing you next year. You are a mature bunch and you will go a long way.
To our Kindergarten graduating class of 2017. You have amazed all of us with how far you've come this year. You can work by yourself through tasks already and the way you have all moved through your ninjas this year shows you know where you are up to with your learning, and where you need to go next. It has been a delight for me, as it is every year, to spend time helping out with your reading and watching you progress. Congratulations on finishing your first year at big school!
Finally to the whole of Year 6. You are getting ready to be citizens of the world. There is a special feeling you may have now. Leaving the security, safety and comfort of primary school can be a bit daunting. There is a mixture of joy and excitement, sadness and trepidation. You may feel the weight of responsibility as you get older and take more control of the reins of life. Know that all of you have left a positive mark on this place, whether it was the small, kind gesture towards a friend, a visitor or a new kindy child or bringing sporting glory to our door, you are all small gems who shone in your own special way while you were growing up here.
Sincere apologies if I have left anything out. Have a wonderful and safe Christmas and we look forward to 2017. To everyone in our school community… thank you for bringing your children to our school and trusting us with them every day. Your children do you credit every day as we join with you in helping them get ready for the world.
Thank you.