2025 Archive

Beginnings…

23 January 2025

The hope of the new, the sadness of letting go and the relief of routine

We begin again within the preciouse hopefulness of a new school year. But, to do so, we have to let go of the bliss of holidays. I love holidays – and the sense of their endlessness from a December perspective, anyway. I equate them with a feeling of too much time: a blend of ocean swims, sunshine, cricket and tennis watching, and the joy of too many books. Even though this time, I was blessed to be in Japan for a couple of weeks, with a quantum of snow, a joy in the aesthetic beauty of the place, and my fill of tonkatsu, ramen and tempura: there was a delicious sense of distance between work and life.

Thus, unsurprisingly, the reality of January always bites a little hard and beginning again, requires its own special energy. For families, the start of a new school year holds a mixture of feelings too – the hope of the new, the sadness of letting go and the relief of routine. For us all, a new school year involves starting all over again. Beginnings matter. Beginnings imply a separation from that which has passed.

Separation is easier for some, rather than for others, but it is part of the role of parents: the constant preparation of our child for an independent life.

Thus, it is important that we do not metaphorically insert ourselves into our child’s lunchbox. Engagement in school life looks very different from overinvolvement. We cannot do their work for them, nor can we be their problem solvers and trouble shooters in every situation, lest we rob them of this vital skill for life beyond the Fairholme gates. We can be interested, supportive, present. Having said all that, I know it isn’t easy. I know we want to hold on for just a little longer. I feel for our boarder parents, always, caught, as they are, in the ultimate of letting go moments. But starting anew is also ripe with possibilities.

At the beginning of next term, you will also have a new principal – and Dr Leigh Hobart will spend time with us in March, to begin one of many introductions to the College. She and I met together in the holidays, and I have been corresponding with Dr Hobart, since her announcement – to smooth her entry. Her enthusiasm for this role, for Fairholme, along with her substantial experience in education, most recently in a Deputy role at BBC in Brisbane, gives great confidence for the changeover, and I know that she will be well supported by you. This is an exciting time for the College.

For now, I will relish every Fairholme moment. I am not counting down the days, rather looking forward to the term ahead and the intentionality of beginning well … yes, every bit as important as finishing well. I do look forward to seeing many of you at the Interhouse swimming carnivals and the Principal’s Welcome Function on Friday 21 February.

Let us begin well. With rich anticipation and also with patience: the calm acceptance that things can happen in a different order than that which we expected.

Best wishes

Dr Linda Evans | Principal