Our students showed great confidence in successfully navigating their own way there to Ashfield. They truly responded well to such a challenge and seemed to revel in the chance to show independence. The slightly later start and earlier finish are no doubt incentives that sweeten the deal. Carnivals are not just for competitive swimmers, although this year we had some stellar performances in the pool. They provide wonderful opportunities for leadership, service, developing a sense of belonging and enjoying the company of peers and teachers in a relaxed environment. All of these were components of our day. I want to congratulate the strong House Spirit that was evident on the day. The Heads of House and Student Leaders created extraordinarily written, choreographed and costumed cheers. We filled the stadium with colour and excitement throughout the day and provided an enjoyable distraction to the many and mostly elderly patrons of the other pools at the venue. A sincere thank you to Ms Harmanis on the organisation of her first carnival, the PE team for their preparation and the House teams for the creation of such a positive spirit.
Next Wednesday, the Christian Churches will observe the commencement of Lent. Ash Wednesday Liturgies will be conducted in House Groups and the liturgies will be led by our very capable student leaders. Their capacity to hold the attention of our younger students is undoubted. They are such powerful witnesses and role models. That capacity was strongly demonstrated at our College Assembly on Wednesday when our Co-captains provided a powerful articulation of the College value, Service of the Poor ( read Tara & Jemina's speech ); and students who had participated in the Tanzania Immersion illustrated how they had seen the effectiveness of fighting poverty through education. A musical performance by Year 8 student Kayla Lee left us all in awe and of course Williams House were ecstatic at the announcement of their victory in the overall points tally and spirit award for the 2025 Inter-House Swimming Carnival.