Grandparents' and Godparents' Day
Today, Wednesday, 24 November, we welcome the Grandparents and Godparents of our Year 7 students to Somerville House. In today’s newsletter, I share some of my address to our special guests at the assembly in their honour.
Grandparents and Godparents Day is one of our favourite days of the year at Somerville House. Celebrating with this special assembly hosted by our Year 7 students with all of our grandparents, great grandparents, adopted grandparents, godparents and special friends is a highlight in the School calendar and we are doubly happy that the restrictions of the pandemic have been lifted, as we were not able to hold this event in 2020.
I think it is important that the School acknowledges the important role grandparents play in the lives of their grandchildren.
I think it is important that we acknowledge that our grandparents are the closest people to us with the most life experience. This is the message that I want us to have front and centre as we celebrate the special relationship that exists between grandparents and grandchildren; godparents and godchildren.
Out of all the things that actually matter in life, love, relationships, character, possessions and work, there is nothing that our Somerville House girls will go through that their grandparents haven’t already experienced.
We acknowledge the important role that grandparents play in the lives of their grandchildren – and I guess it is true to say that grandparents fill different roles in their granddaughter’s life and will have different styles at different times.
Your role as grandparents includes the family historian, the living ancestor, the nurturer, the mentor, the role model, the playmate, the wizard, and the hero.
As the family historian/living ancestor, you share the stories of the past. I think of my grandparents’ stories - about relatives, important events, family traditions, my Nanna’s recall of her own childhood or her stories of my Dad growing up, my Gran reciting The Drover’s Wife by Henry Lawson or regaling her eleven grandchildren with the poem, The Owl Critic, by James Thomas Fields.
As the stories of the family are passed on, your granddaughter gains a positive image of her place within the family. Grandparents and their stories are the "glue" which keeps the family together and contributes to family identity.
I have also noticed that grandparents play a role as nurturers – you provide encouragement and support to the family in times of crisis. You serve as the babysitter, the chauffeur, the confidante, the caregiver, with the ever present challenge of finding a delicate balance between encouragement and control.
Grandparents mentor by teaching, sharing skills and talents, providing advice and listening to their grandchildren.
As a role model grandparents provide grandchildren with examples of hard work and family loyalty.
You may not realise the influence you have on your grandchildren until you hear them repeat something you said or imitate something you have done. There are many areas in which grandparents serve as nurturers, mentors, and role models to their grandchildren.
Most people probably do not thank their grandparents for raising their own parents, but you did a great job starting and supporting the positive legacy that your family has. You are the original source of the blessings that keep being passed down each generation.
CCTV and Body Cameras
In 2021, the School implemented a permit system to assist with vehicular movements at the Loop Road during the busy afternoon pick up period. Occasionally our driveway attendants have had to manage some unpleasant incidents that are not in keeping with our School Community Code of Conduct. From 2022 you may notice that the staff directing traffic on the loop via Gate 1 are wearing body cameras to assist with managing incidents between staff members and drivers.
Our staff will inform people if they are being recorded in an attempt to de-escalate a situation and calm behaviour. The recording will provide an independent perspective. The signage at the loop indicates CCTV and body cameras are implemented. Thank you in advance for your support of this trial.
Farewells to staff
At the end of term, we will farewell our School Receptionist, Mrs Marion Hancock, after twenty years of wonderful service to the School. We thank Marion for her warm welcome to visitors and callers, and we wish her a relaxing retirement.
After eleven years at Somerville House, we also say goodbye to Mrs Michelle Baker as she leaves to take up her next teaching appointment.
Ms Mariana McIver will be on campus to attend the handover information sessions with Mrs Maree McHugh, in preparation for Ms McIver’s commencement as the Director of Pre-Prep in 2022.
Mrs Kim Kiepe
Principal