The Sports Day, held on Thursday 17 March, was an excellent day, where the participation by so many students and the joy on so many faces reinforced why events such as these are even more important in 2022. Congratulations to all students who participated and cheered so enthusiastically, and special congratulations to Winchester for their win on the day. I also want to pass on my thanks to all staff for their efforts to allow the day to proceed and particularly to David and Sue Serotzki and the Sports staff for the mountain of planning that goes in to ensure a successful day.

There are so many other wonderful examples of what makes a Concordia education so special and I would like to highlight one that happened behind the scenes and without fanfare in the last fortnight. I literally stumbled upon it as I was heading to the oval at the start of lunch recently to supervise students playing on the oval.

As I arrived at the edge of the oval, I observed a PE class in the distance. They were taking turns at kicking a soccer ball at a set of goals. Nothing unusual about that, but as I approached the group, I noticed that the person preparing to shoot was wearing a blindfold and a guest of the teacher was tapping the three sides of the goals with a stick to make a sound that signalled the direction to shoot. Stopping to watch, I asked the teacher what was happening. He explained to me that he has a student in the class with a vision impairment. So, he had arranged a visit from Andrew Whisson of SA School and Services for Vision Impaired to set up a simulation which allowed all the students to experience what it is like to have a vision impairment and to therefore build empathy and understanding. When the lesson finished, the group remained for a period chatting with the staff about what they had experienced. There was no rush to race off to lunch even though the bell had gone minutes before. They were clearly engrossed in the learning.

Taking the time and effort to arrange such an activity is an example of a Concordia teacher going the extra mile for students to enrich learning and to bring it into reality. Extraordinary!

Dennis Mulherin
Principal - Middle and Senior School