Page 5 - Southwell School Year Book 2022

Trust Board Chair - Gary Mollard
First I would like to congratulate all you students on completing a year of learning and growing at Southwell in 2022. Whether this has been your first year, your last year or one in between, I hope you have enjoyed it and have given your best. There is no better feeling than getting to the end of something knowing you gave it your all. You emptied the tank. If you don’t quite feel that way, try it next year.
To our Year 8s, thank you for what you have brought to Southwell and may the lessons and habits you have learned here set you up for success at secondary school.
To parents and caregivers - thank you for entrusting the school with the education and care of your darlings. It’s wonderful to have three more-or-less normal terms, with sport, Opera and camps proceeding almost as usual. Let’s hope that the pandemic's impact on our lives is over. There will be ongoing effects but as time passes these will diminish. Indeed, when I wander about the campus I see happy students working with engaged teachers, in the classroom, on the fields, in the specialist rooms, on the stage or in the pool. There is a feeling of energy and positivity. It is an environment that facilitates great learning. I hope you feel it too. It is a feeling borne of the culture that starts with the Headmaster and is reinforced every day by teachers and support staff alike.
In our Headmaster, Mr Speedy, we have an exceptional leader, ably supported by Mrs Speedy. They are a class act. Mr and Mrs Speedy, thank you.
I would also like to thank all the other Southwell people - all thirty home-room teachers, nineteen specialist teachers, ten teacher aides, grounds people, kitchen people, cleaning people and the admin
team. It’s the people that make the difference. Buildings and facilities get
a lot of attention but it is the people that make the difference.
The Southwell people make a difference. Thank you to you all.
TRUST BOARD CHAIR ADDRESS
Last year we spoke of the building projects that were in the planning. A year later two of them are very obvious. We expect to open the new Junior Block on Day 1 of Term 1 as planned. The Alumni Sports Pavilion won’t be far behind. You may not have seen it as it's not so obvious, located beside the cricket nets behind the Bush. If you get a chance go and have a look. It will be a superb, multi- functional learning and event space in a special location.
During Term 1 we expect the new boarding facility to commence construction and be completed during the year.
One of the things that occupies the minds of Trustees is the issue of waiting lists. Waiting lists are borne of strong demand and constrained supply. While we can’t directly influence demand we can influence supply. The Trust Board has debated this issue often and every time we come to the same conclusion. The current loose cap on the roll at 650 is a critical element in the relational character of the school that we all value - it cannot change. We know how frustrating it is to have children on the waiting list. We know how difficult it is for school admissions people to put great applicants on the waiting list. But while we don’t like it, we are not about to destroy one of the school’s key differentiators. All I can say is, spread the word in order to maximise the chances of a place when you want it, and get your application in early.
To conclude, congratulations to all you students today, prize winner or not. All the best to our Year 8s and your families. Thank you Mr Speedy for your leadership and thank you to teachers and support people for what you do here at Southwell. A final thank you to parents and caregivers, and on behalf of the Trust Board have a great Christmas and a relaxing fun-filled holiday.
Per Aspera Ad Astrum.
Gary Mollard
Southwell School Yearbook 2022
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THE PEOPLE MAKE THE DIFFERENCE