It was wonderful to gather as a whole school community on Thursday evening. As we look to the year ahead, I think most of us want 2021 to be different from last year, and so the question arises: What does it mean to have hope, real hope, in a broken world?

Psalm 126 was written by a people coming through a very difficult time. In that space, they reconsidered how they functioned as a community, learnt to be grateful for what they did have, and remembered to acknowledge God as the giver of good gifts.

Strange as it may seem, hope has a context to grow when we are not in control, because hope requires us to look beyond ourselves.

God’s heart for humanity is to bring goodness, healing and freedom (Luke 4:16-19), to bring good out of brokenness, and to do for us what we have been unable to do for ourselves. God desires to give us a future with hope (Jeremiah 29:11).

During the service, Mrs Pauline Duthie commissioned Rosie Auchinvole as our Head Prefect for 2021. Mrs Duthie and Dr Doug Hill (Board of Governors) commissioned our prefects in their various roles, and Mrs Emma Harris and Mrs Lauren Piebenga acknowledged our Year 13 students as leaders in the school.

Olivia Charles and Madeline Loudon read Psalm 126, Penelope Hare and Georgia Wong led us in a prayer of thanksgiving, and Rosie Auchinvole read Luke 4:16-19.